I see that the suggestion was again made that the church bus the homeless to the church to feed them Cheerios. What would that accomplish, besides wasting money that should be spent on food not gas or transportation? You pick them up at the park take them to the church take them back to the park after breakfast they are still in the park at the end of breakfast.

No garbage? The homeless often help clean up Jubilee Park after breakfast and the church members clean up, often leaving the Park clearer than when they arrived.

No drug dealers? Yes John Smith and Bob Bos complain that after the church left more people and drug dealers arrived. How can any reasonable person hold the church, or anyone, responsible for the fact that people come to the park after they have left? Doesn’t the fact they come AFTER the church leaves suggest that instead of chasing Christians out of the Park you should be encouraging them to stay?

Or perhaps it is council’s true intention that the church not bus them back, leaving them stranded in some other Abbotsford neighbourhood. Then they blame the church, not their own actions lack of leadership or ideas, for these new homeless in that new neighbourhood.

Reduced costs since they will not have to spend tens, perhaps hundreds, of thousands of dollars for police and other costs; plus a scapegoat – sounds like a winning solution for City Council.

Let us be clear here – Council does not propose in any way to address or decrease homelessness and problems in Abbotsford. They merely intend to move it to some other part of the City.

If one thinks about it one is left with another attempt by council to bamboozle citizens on an important and major issue and one burning question.

Why is it that not only does council think Bob Bos and his Downtown Business Association should not have to share in the homeless/addiction problem with the rest of the citizens but they are willing, in fact plan to, move the homeless and addicted out of the downtown neighbourhood and into some other less favoured Abbotsford neighbourhood?

When John Smith started by repeating, almost verbatim the same excuse speech he has been using for the last 2 ½ + years for why council is doing nothing to address homelessness and its related problems; when Councillors Smith, Beck and Harris stated their ridiculous Cheerios Theory – that serving Cheerios in Jubilee Park was at the root of the problems in the Park; I knew Mark Rushton had been correct when he wrote voters needed to vote in a totally new council if they wanted growing problems in Abbotsford such as homelessness to be addressed in an effective, positive manner.

Calling a Pastor on the carpet at City Hall, like a delinquent schoolboy, for daring to practice his Christian values is unacceptable behaviour. Chasing the homeless out of Jubilee Park at great expense when they will only return is pointless. Why does Bob Bos and his Downtown Business Association deserve special treatment by having the homeless in the Park chased into some other Abbotsford neighbourhood?

Other cities, with fewer advantages than Abbotsford has, are making solid progress in addressing homelessness on their streets because they have leadership and common sense, while Abbotsford is unfortunately stuck with spendthrift politicians.