We at Land Keepers have been closely following the waste disposal mess in the CVRD. Frankly, it’s appalling. Do you genuinely believe the residents of this district are going to sit back and accept this?
The way this has been handled screams incompetence. In any real-world setting, the people responsible would have been shown the door. You failed to do your homework, and now you’re trying to make taxpayers cover the costs for services they aren’t even receiving. On top of that, residents are still paying private contractors to fill the gap. This is not just insulting; it’s absurd.
It’s your problem to fix. Stop looking at taxpayers as your piggy bank and handle this internally. We suggest starting with: Reallocate funds. Cut unnecessary spending on non-essentials like park developments or other “nice-to-haves.” Redirect those funds to address the shortfall caused by this debacle. Reduce bureaucracy.
Assess staff levels across the CVRD and make cuts where it makes sense.
Prioritize critical roles and tighten up operational efficiency. We’ve watched the recordings of the board meetings, and the response from Darcy Mooney was disappointing, to say the least. It’s hard to believe that someone in her position could provide answers that were this out of touch.
We strongly urge every board member to take the time to watch those meetings, especially the parts where you discuss charging residents for garbage pickup starting January 2025. The service itself won’t even begin until June at the earliest, possibly not until September. Meanwhile, residents are also stuck paying Pan Disposal to pick up the slack. How is this acceptable?
What’s happening in the Cowichan Valley Regional District is a disgrace. This isn’t just a local failure; it’s a reflection of poor governance that should not be allowed to continue. We call on the BC government to intervene and stop this process immediately.
We’re preparing a letter to the Minister of Municipal Affairs and the opposition critic to bring this issue into the legislative assembly for a full discussion. This issue will not go away, and neither will we.
Sincerely,
Land Keepers
