Dear Editor,
Re: “I don’t recycle to make room for this,” News, March 11.
Joies Tan is justified in her anger about her sincere efforts at composting and recycling while all around her, homes are demolished to make way for monster mansions. This is the direct result of policies or lack of policies from the federal, provincial, and city governments.
Individuals are urged to recycle. Meanwhile, all our governments have policies that encourage the destruction of perfectly good houses to make way for super-houses. Trees are destroyed and lawns are replaced by fully paved front yards required for the three Mercedes that will be parked there. And with the demolished homes, none of the materials are recycled and most end up in the landfill.
It’s all about greed and mammon! The federal government encourages wealthy immigrants to flock to Canada, most of them ending up here in Richmond and Vancouver with all the money to buy and replace the homes with the mausoleums. This has the side effect of making our beloved city unaffordable for our children.
Of course the mayor and council encourage this over-development craze.
Developers play a key role in funding our politicians’ campaigns come election time. And increased property taxes help support the ever expanding budget that the city continually cranks out; they like to spend like drunken sailors in a foreign port.
To further exacerbate this mess, there are no policies that restrict the amount of property that foreigners can buy, no extra demolition fees, and no surtax on empty houses. Unlike most countries, our politicians are willing to sell off the quality of our city to the highest bidder.
Eric Hanson
Richmond
