EDITOR:
If you have ever thought you had struck a reasonable deal with a tradesperson or contractor, who has confidently assured you of their accounting for all requirements of your project, only to find the costs kept getting higher and higher, you know what it feels like to have been lowballed.
For several years now, as more and more information regarding the true nature and scope of our local superport's needs has become available to us, it has become clearer and clearer that our entire community has been lowballed by experts pitching South Delta as an enviable gateway to the world of international trade.
With the latest revelations provided us through the research of MLA Vicki Huntington and associates, it is now apparent that South Delta and its citizens have been duped into becoming not active, informed and equally valued participants in a welcoming of the world to our country, through our community, but a doormat upon which a small group of individuals and corporate entities have tread with determined, quiet, and it would be fair to say stealthy, steps.
It is in no way reassuring to learn that members of Delta council have been aware of these initiatives for several years and said nothing to their constituents about it. It might have been old news at municipal hall and to a few select participants in the plans, but a complete surprise to most others in our community.
The plan to remove a further 500-plus acres of some of the best farmland in Canada from the Agricultural Land Reserve is an outrageous affront to any reasonable person living in South Delta, British Columbia and Canada.
Apparently, all of these issues are of little consequence when compared to the benefits that come with maximizing the efficiency of port operations.
We have not reached a point of no return in this project. The continued decimation of farmland in our community should not be considered an inevitability.
Time must be made for taking stock and acting on any reasonable alternatives. We cannot continue to accept the patronizing, arrogant actions of planners and decision-makers as being irreversible.
Dan. Nykon
