Dear Editor,
We are in the midst of two interconnected crises, climate change and money laundering, and yet our city council is dragging its heels.
Why hasn’t our leadership put a moratorium on all development until something can be done about addressing the rising temperatures? How do they justify clear cutting trees, bushes, yards and destroying perfectly good homes in favour of giant slabs of concrete and empty monoliths? How do they explain that fewer trees and large, gated driveways are better for us? How do they explain that allowing our neighbourhoods and communities being destroyed in favour of more and more unnecessary construction is a good thing?
What are they actually doing to help combat climate change? Hoping that people will recycle is not nearly enough.
It is mind boggling that our leaders are allowing this overdevelopment to continue when there are more pressing matters that need to be dealt with. Do they need to be reminded that they are meant to make decisions that benefit the community, not simply the greed of developers? Are they simply content with the status quo, even though it means that we as a city are still contributing to the death of the planet?
Why hasn’t our leadership put a moratorium on all development until something can be done about dirty money in our real estate?
They have done nothing, except look the other way while they raise house taxes and accept bags full of cash. What are they doing to put an end to this criminal behaviour?
What are they actually doing to make Richmond an affordable city to live in for the people who actually want to live here, and not just own an empty property?
If our “leadership” is not willing to act, then they should step aside and be replaced by people whose concerns are of our future and not just winning a life-sized game of Monopoly.
Adam Xavier
RICHMOND
