Municipal, Provincial

BC’s Community Charter not enforced?

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After reading the Abbotsford Today story concerning the non-action of the Liberal government on behalf of the taxpayers of Abbotsford to protect them from Abbotsford city Council’s violation of the Community Charter I have composed the following two letters to Gordon Campbell and Carole James.

I would urge people to send a copy of the first letter to the Premier and our local MLAs (premier@gov.bc.ca; john.vandongen.mla@leg.bc.ca; mike.dejong.mla@leg.bc.ca; randy.hawes.mla@leg.bc.ca) and a copy of the second letter to Carole James (carole@bc.ndp.ca; carole.james.mla@leg.bc.ca)

Dear Gordon Campbell: I am writing in order to achieve an understanding of how the Liberal government decides which of the provincial laws, statutes etc. it will enforce and which of the provincial laws, statutes etc. it will NOT enforce.

I had assumed that the provincial government would enforce all provincial laws, statutes etc.

However it has been brought to my attention that Deputy Minister Dale Wall of the Ministry of Community and Rural Development, the Ministry responsible for the Community Charter which governs the behavior of municipal governments, informed a concerned Abbotsford citizen (Lynn Perrin) that:

“It is Ministry practice not to obtain a legal opinion about whether a municipality has met the legislative requirements.”

Leaving aside, for the moment, the obvious question of why a government would pass laws, statutes etc. it does not intend to enforce and of the deception inherent in a government passing laws, statutes etc. it does not intent to enforce; contrast this non-action on violations of the Community Charter by a municipal government with the BC governments taking action to appeal the BC court ruling that where municipalities lack sufficient housing citizens who are homeless as a result of this lack of appropriate housing have the right to establish shelter on municipal property.

These circumstances would seem to suggest that the Liberal government policy is to deny the rights of citizens and the protection of law to citizens, giving preference to interests of municipalities to the extent of exempting them from answering to citizens or the courts for violations of the Community Charter.

Is the rule for deciding which laws, statutes etc. the provincial government of BC will enforce or not enforce:

1. enforce or support those laws, statutes etc. that violate the rights and needs of the citizens;

2. NOT enforce or support those laws, statutes etc. that protect the rights and protect citizens from acts of questionable legality by government.

If this is not the criteria the Liberal government uses to decide which laws, statutes etc. it will or will not enforce would you please provide the criteria upon which the Liberal government does make the enforce/non-enforce decision?

I also want to express my concern that the failure of the Liberal government to protect citizens by enforcing the laws will force citizens to resort to vigilantism to protect themselves.

I thank you for your attention to this matter and look forward to your reply so that I may come to an understanding of how decisions to enforce or NOT enforce laws, statutes etc. are made.

Yours Sincerely (citizens name)

Dear Carole James: I am writing to request that you and the NDP party stop grandstanding and trying to score political points on the matters of the HST and school budgets long enough to focus/address the Liberal governments stated policy of not enforcing the Community Charter and thus allowing municipal governments to do as they wish; forcing upon taxpayers the financial liabilities and consequences that result from a municipal government ignoring the provisions of the Community Charter.

I realize that the mundane day to day concerns of citizens such as the taxpayers of Abbotsford concern with the multi-million dollar liability and costs that have resulted from Abbotsford city council’s decision to ignore the Community Charter provisions on financial conduct pales in comparison with the opportunity to get your picture or name on TV or in the newspapers.

Nevertheless I and the citizens of Abbotsford would appreciate it if the NDP could task the Liberal government on their failure to enforce their own Community Charter.

Many citizens would also appreciate it if you could inform us what taxes/fees will be raise or programs cut to repay the Federal Government the $1,500,000,000.00 paid to BC and to offset the $200,000,000.00 yearly shortfall in the matter of the HST.

It would also be appreciated it if you would specify which taxes/fees you propose to raise and what programs will be cut to pay for additional funding for schools.

I thank you for your attention to these matters and look forward to your reply.

Yours Sincerely (citizens name)

Addiction, Issues, Mental Health

Recovery/Escape from homelessness is a tricky path.

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I was at a housing meeting where the speaker asked people to take out their keys and look at their house key; to take a moment to think about what the key meant or represented to them.

I don’t know what the others around the table thought or saw in their key. I don’t know what the speaker sees when he looks at his own key.

I suspect it was not what I saw in looking at my door key – a burden.

Like rain on a mountain, poverty slowly wears away at you.

The stress of scrambling and pinching pennies until they scream, month after month after month, in order to pay the rent and cover the monthly bills wears away at one’s spirit and mental health.

The stress wears away at one’s ability to manage/deal with anxiety disorders and as anxiety creeps back into your life, over time the levels of anxiety increase becoming harder and harder to deal with.

As anxiety works its way back into one’s life it brings with it feelings of panic, then panic attacks. Increasing anxiety and panic open the door for depression, obsessive-compulsive behaviours and negative thinking.

The grinding of the spirit and mind by the constant threat of homelessness drags at you, seemingly seeking to drag you into a downward mental spiral and back into a head space where your mental illness more and more impairs your ability to function.

Your house key, your home, becomes an albatross around your neck dragging you back into mental illness. You look at the key and you see a burden that portends a return to the darkness of mental illness and inevitably once again to homelessness.

As the strain on your mental health increases so does the temptation to seek relief or to take the edge off through self medication.

The roots of addiction are buried in the soil of seeking relief or alleviation from one’s own mind and the darkness or pain or both that reside there.

The need to find a doctor to fill out the medical report to renew one’s status as ‘persons with persistent multiple barriers’ or have your monthly income halved and face dealing with the fallout that would result from having one’s income abruptly reduced by 50% = stress+++.

A voice mail message conveys the need to phone the Ministry about an issue with the stub. Of course when you phone the line is always busy, forcing you to go down to the Ministry office.

As a result of past dealings with the Ministry, even when mentally well, dealing with the Ministry is at best a challenge. When one’s mental health is under pressure dealing with the Ministry employees means struggling to hold anxiety and panic at bay.

Facing a need to chill out in order to be able to enter the Ministry’s den and deal with the Ministry without succumbing to either (or both) an anxiety or panic attack … well a toke or two or three of marijuana to take the edge off and mellow you out becomes somewhat of a seriously temptation.

And yes, there are some prescription medications that take the edge off but they also stuff one’s head with cotton to the point of nonfunctioning. Remember you need to have a doctor prescribe any medication and since one of the current obstacles is the need to find a doctor …

Understanding just how tempting and easy it is to end up using whatever substances you can find that offer a way to deal with, alleviate and/or escape from one’s own mind and pain has a profound effect on how you view addiction and addicts.

Good thing – I made it into the Ministry. Bad thing – I made it into the Ministry. Part time work contributes to my income but getting paid every two weeks means every six months three pay periods are claimed as income for the month, resulting in exceeding the income permitted. This will result in a reduction of the next Ministry cheque by $280.

Although I have been able to scrimp and scramble and survive this reduction in the past, my finances have been exhausted to the point that no amount of scrambling will enable me to be able to pay June’s rent with this reduction.

Standing in the Ministry office Monday afternoon amending the stub to include the extra pay period did not cause feelings of anxiety or panic. The feeling evoked was much closer to relief.

Yes I now need to find someplace to store belongings, reduce my belongings to fit into that storage space, get those belongings stored and dispose of the rest of my belongings. But facing the constant risk of homelessness I have been forced for months to think about what to keep and what to let go of.

Rather than living in fear and anxiety of the sword falling, now that it has (or will shortly) fall it is a matter of dealing with what needs to be done to transition to homelessness. Having been homeless and lived in my car before homelessness does not hold fear or high anxiety.

Indeed although I will lose the $375 rent portion from the Ministry I will be over $200 ahead as I no longer have to pay the difference between the $375 and my actual rent. Additional savings will be realized as expenses related to having housing cease.

There is regret for the need to step back from volunteering and other community involvements in order to be able to focus on the day to day needs to survive while homeless.

Still, this simplifying of life will hopefully permit and/or contribute to the pursuit of a return to mental wellness.

Recovery from homelessness is more difficult and complex than it appears.

The current Mental Health, Housing and Social Development systems/programs hinder more than help, If you are not fortunate enough to escape the system before your luck runs out …

Such are the Realities of Life.

Addiction, Issues

Substance Use Workshop – recommended by the writer.

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Addiction Realities Workshop – Attendance Highly Recommended by the writer.

If you want knowledge on – What is EFFECTIVE support for substances users?

If you want knowledge on – how to be effective even in difficult or crisis situations.

If you seek to be informed on the underlying realities of the public policy issue of substance use.

If your life is touched by substance use.

You want to be at Seven Oaks Alliance Church (2575 Gladwin Road Abbotsford) on Wednesday night (May 5, 2010) for the Workshop presented by the Abbotsford Mental Health and Addictions Advisory Committee on Substance Use and Users.

I personally am looking forward to this workshop and would highly recommend it to anyone seeking to become informed on the harsh reality of substance use.

I picked Mr, Ron Prasad’s (Fraser East Concurrent Disorders Coordinator) brain when developing a training curriculum on concurrent disorders (substance use + mental health issues) because of his knowledge of substance use and its affect on mental health and mental health issues. I have also heard him speak to these issues.

I would urge anyone interested in gaining understanding of these issues who has the opportunity to learn from him, even as a single speaker, to do so.

Wednesday’s opportunity to not only hear from Ron Prasad but also from Mark Goheen is too strong a ‘double-bill’ to be missed.

I have attended workshops presented by Mark Goheen (Clinical Specialist, Maple Ridge Treatment Centre) and can attest to not only his knowledge and understanding but about his ability to communicate with his audience. Indeed I have a workshop (part 2) by Mr. Goheen on my schedule and am looking forward to gaining new insight, ideas and understanding.

I do not mean to slight Abbotsford’s Chief Constable Bob Rich with my enthusiastic recommendations of the other speakers at this workshop. I have heard Chief Rich speak and appreciated his reflection of the issues, problems and realities of trying to address what is a social and medical issue through the legal and criminal systems.

If you are looking to hear the myths, what ‘everybody knows’, the political line etc this is not the place to look.

But if you are looking to gain a realistic view and knowledge of the issues associated with substance use you want to be at Seven Oaks Alliance at 6 PM Wednesday May 5, 2010.