The Best Letter Ever on THE CAMBIE LINE
Our regular Cambie Line Kamakaze, Susan, has forwarded a colleague's most elequent letter to the Preem. It's a doozy. Read it, think about it and follow suit...write one your own true self to these heartless crooks:
________________________________________________________________________________________________
April 23rd, 2008
Premier Gordon Campbell
Legislative Buildings,
Victoria, BC
Dear Premier Campbell,
As a Cambie resident, I have both experienced and witnessed the pain all
along Cambie Street as a result of Canada Line construction. I have spent
most of my life fighting against injustice in other parts of the world, but
I never thought I would witness so much injustice on my own doorstep in
Canada.
I have watched for two and a half years as businesses have died a slow and
painful death. Our corner store at Cambie and Marine stopped selling
newspapers within months of construction commencing. Then they stopped
selling milk because it was going sour before it was purchased. Then they
stopped restocking their shelves because they couldn’t earn enough to cover
their lease. For the last three weeks or so, they’ve stopped opening at
all. The owners are an immigrant family that was trying to make a go of it
in Canada. While one family member worked long hours alone in the store,
two other family members took on extra work elsewhere to try to keep the
store afloat.
The corner store is next to an insurance company that after two years of
sending out notices offering to come to their customers because it was so
impossible for their customers to get to them, has now moved.
Next to them was a Sushi restaurant owned by another immigrant family. They
made the ill-fated decision to open a new business on Cambie just before the
decision to proceed with the RAV Line was announced. They were just getting
established when the road was torn up in front of them and all access routes
were blocked. They struggled for months before going bankrupt.
The story is the same up and down Cambie.
These are not just businesses – they are livelihoods and lives. The stress
and pain that has been caused by the cut and cover construction has affected
not just businesses or business owners, it has hurt entire families – some
of whom may never recover. At least one business owner who was under
financial stress had a heart attack and died – and another has publicly
admitted to contemplating suicide.
I simply cannot believe the callousness of your government in turning its
back on these small business owners and their families. I personally feel
great shame at the way in which they’ve been discarded by your government.
I’ve heard all the arguments about businesses coming and going and short
term pain for long-term gain, but none of this applies to the Cambie
corridor. What has happened along Cambie is beyond devastating. There is
no long-term gain for the many businesses that have lost everything and
disappeared, or for those on the verge of losing everything.
I’ve also heard you and your ministers insist that the Canada Line is not
your project, that you are just one of the funders. I’m sorry but the facts
show otherwise. There would be no Canada Line if you had not interceded and
forced city councillors to vote and revote the issue. As a funder of the
project, your government bears responsibility for it. It simply defies
logic to argue otherwise – government responsibility goes with the money.
I note that while various levels of government have admitted that serious
mistakes were made along Cambie, they only do so to reassure other
communities that the Cambie mistakes will not be repeated.
It’s well past time your government admitted that grievous errors were made
in the handling of the Canada Line construction, and you set about trying to
remedy the financial damage and consequent stress by fully compensating
small businesses and others for their losses. You might also consider
providing a letter of responsibility that these business can use to try to
restore their credit ratings and their relationships with their suppliers
and other businesses with whom they have dealings.
There should also be a commitment from your government that if future
projects cannot be undertaken without serious damage to businesses and
residents, then compensation must be built into the budget. If that makes
the project too expensive, then the project should be altered or shelved.
Premier Campbell, all the flower baskets and banners in the world cannot
heal the terminal wounds down the Cambie corridor. Businesses are
continuing to die a slow and painful death with each and every passing day,
while families are being torn apart by extreme stress. This situation must
be remedied immediately. This is a crisis.
I look forward to your prompt and compassionate response.
Sincere regards,
Jillian Skeet
Premier Gordon Campbell
Legislative Buildings,
Victoria, BC
Dear Premier Campbell,
As a Cambie resident, I have both experienced and witnessed the pain all
along Cambie Street as a result of Canada Line construction. I have spent
most of my life fighting against injustice in other parts of the world, but
I never thought I would witness so much injustice on my own doorstep in
Canada.
I have watched for two and a half years as businesses have died a slow and
painful death. Our corner store at Cambie and Marine stopped selling
newspapers within months of construction commencing. Then they stopped
selling milk because it was going sour before it was purchased. Then they
stopped restocking their shelves because they couldn’t earn enough to cover
their lease. For the last three weeks or so, they’ve stopped opening at
all. The owners are an immigrant family that was trying to make a go of it
in Canada. While one family member worked long hours alone in the store,
two other family members took on extra work elsewhere to try to keep the
store afloat.
The corner store is next to an insurance company that after two years of
sending out notices offering to come to their customers because it was so
impossible for their customers to get to them, has now moved.
Next to them was a Sushi restaurant owned by another immigrant family. They
made the ill-fated decision to open a new business on Cambie just before the
decision to proceed with the RAV Line was announced. They were just getting
established when the road was torn up in front of them and all access routes
were blocked. They struggled for months before going bankrupt.
The story is the same up and down Cambie.
These are not just businesses – they are livelihoods and lives. The stress
and pain that has been caused by the cut and cover construction has affected
not just businesses or business owners, it has hurt entire families – some
of whom may never recover. At least one business owner who was under
financial stress had a heart attack and died – and another has publicly
admitted to contemplating suicide.
I simply cannot believe the callousness of your government in turning its
back on these small business owners and their families. I personally feel
great shame at the way in which they’ve been discarded by your government.
I’ve heard all the arguments about businesses coming and going and short
term pain for long-term gain, but none of this applies to the Cambie
corridor. What has happened along Cambie is beyond devastating. There is
no long-term gain for the many businesses that have lost everything and
disappeared, or for those on the verge of losing everything.
I’ve also heard you and your ministers insist that the Canada Line is not
your project, that you are just one of the funders. I’m sorry but the facts
show otherwise. There would be no Canada Line if you had not interceded and
forced city councillors to vote and revote the issue. As a funder of the
project, your government bears responsibility for it. It simply defies
logic to argue otherwise – government responsibility goes with the money.
I note that while various levels of government have admitted that serious
mistakes were made along Cambie, they only do so to reassure other
communities that the Cambie mistakes will not be repeated.
It’s well past time your government admitted that grievous errors were made
in the handling of the Canada Line construction, and you set about trying to
remedy the financial damage and consequent stress by fully compensating
small businesses and others for their losses. You might also consider
providing a letter of responsibility that these business can use to try to
restore their credit ratings and their relationships with their suppliers
and other businesses with whom they have dealings.
There should also be a commitment from your government that if future
projects cannot be undertaken without serious damage to businesses and
residents, then compensation must be built into the budget. If that makes
the project too expensive, then the project should be altered or shelved.
Premier Campbell, all the flower baskets and banners in the world cannot
heal the terminal wounds down the Cambie corridor. Businesses are
continuing to die a slow and painful death with each and every passing day,
while families are being torn apart by extreme stress. This situation must
be remedied immediately. This is a crisis.
I look forward to your prompt and compassionate response.
Sincere regards,
Jillian Skeet
cc. media
all MLAs , MP's, TransLink Board,
Vancouver Mayor and Council , citizens
all MLAs , MP's, TransLink Board,
Vancouver Mayor and Council , citizens
5 comments:
I suspect the government wants these businesses to fail to facilitate the redevelopment of Cambie street. $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
The axiom is, "If something really doesn't seem to make any sense, follow the money."
So, as Anonymous hinted, let's hope some journalists - or better yet, a Private Eye or two - does exactly that. Judging by TransLink plans to form a Real Estate Arm, we could do worse than taking a look at what real estate has been changing hands along Cambie Street and environs recently...after all they did say they would be buying up properties along transit routes, and doing so "quietly to prevent real estate values from skyrocketing". Hmmmm.
Tell me, what is so great about such an obviously biased letter. Google her and you'll see she's opposed to everything involving the BC Liberals. Jillian Skeet is a life long NDP activist fighting the evil Gordon Campbell Gov't.
Give your head a shake! Do you have any idea what a disasterous precedent this would create. What about the merchants affected south of 41st or in downtown VAncouver or during the construction of the Millenum line the NDP built; or the EXPO line built under the socreds. Or one of a myriad of construction project in the lower mainland. Our density is increasing the complications in constructing anything in this City. Everything we build today creates issues in the local area. If you don't like it, move to 100 mile house!
Think before you post - How much of this protest is simply political posturing?
To the last blogger:
Thank all that is just, and fair and democratic that the Jillian Skeets of this world have devoted themselves to eliminating the kind of attitude represented by the last blogger. There is such a lack of integrity in the Campbell Liberal Cabal, it's time for a regime change - and fast.
Whatever the political stripe, injustices and human rights violations must be rectified - especially when such harm has been caused by our own government.
Full financial relief is the right thing to do for this unmitigated disaster along the RAV route for all the affected families. They were blindsided by a calculated plan driven by an Olympic deadline, for massive development that hinged on wiping out all the little shops in the one level buildings along the line.
Who has bought up all this land - when did they buy it, and when was the re-zoning approved?
For having the courage to stand up to these bullies Jillian - thank you. Every small business person in BC should be deeply grateful, and should write their own letter to Gordon and Company.
When Toronto built the Yonge Street subway line in North York, they made sure Yonge Street was kept open to traffic without hurting businesses.
They did this by putting timbers over the open cut for the road bed.
On the west end of the Bloor Danforth line, the planners put the tunnels under the back lanes behind the businesses, so that Bloor street was not affected by construction of the subway.
This is what Translink should do with Broadway if they decide to extend the Skytrain to UBC.
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