Testimony To CUPE Clout In Nanaimo?
At last night's city council meeting Mayor Ruttan was presented with a certificate declaring Nanaimo as a Blue Community. One of the requirements to receive such a high honor was the removal of healthy bottled water from city owned facilities and city sponsored events.
Instead of being able to buy bottled water at a Nanaimo City facility you will have the choice of buying other beverages from the vending machines, or filling up your own water bottle from a city tap. Keep in mind, the water from the city tap is considered to present such a risk as to require the expenditure of $72 million to build a new water filtration plant to make sure our tap water is safe to drink.
The Reason For Nanaimo Banning Bottled Water?
Political pandering is the obvious reason for this silly waste of tax dollars. The fact that a high ranking CUPE member appeared before council made it clear there was more to this decision than meets the eye. It is also clear how much clout CUPE has when it comes to council decisions.
This is just another clear example of why anyone hoping this council will demonstrate any more fiscal restraint than previous councils will be disappointed. After all, it is just tax dollars they are spending, and when they need more, they just raise taxes!
Submitted by Janet Irvine -
ReplyDeleteIt certainly was interesting to watch how representation from the Council of Canadians and CUPE dictated to all members of council on an issue that affects ALL taxpaying citizens of Nanaimo.
What about the rest of us? Wonder what's next?
Also, very interesting to hear that some council members actually believe that local government provides water to the municipality at NO cost!
IMO, there should have been official consultation between the elected council and its constituents. After all, when it came to tax reform, didn't these same activists complain big time about the manner in which the HST was introduced by the province?