Editor, The News:
There has been several articles in your newspaper regarding the drug house on St. Anne Avenue, a deplorable situation and one that we all are disgusted by.
However, I am dismayed at how each story seems to emphasize Coun. Al Hogarth’s connection to this property, a house that he is doing his best to ‘manage’ under obviously difficult conditions.
Initially, my intention was to write with respect to Hogarth’s comments regarding the pitiful recourse available to landlords through the Residential Tenancy Branch.
I have personal experience with this in simply trying to collect unpaid rent. To say it was a miserable, useless remedy is an understatement.
However, what’s really ironic is that in the same issue of (March 14) The News, there is a comprehensive article regarding the B.C. Civil Forfeiture law and how it has dealt with similar situations.
Instead of placing blame on a man who’s spent a good part of his life dedicated to making our community a better place and insinuating that he hasn’t done enough to rectify the problems, perhaps it would be more poignant to investigate why nothing has been done by the B.C. forfeiture office?
I am sure most of us can understand Hogarth’s frustration and the difficulty he has endured as a result of the system inadequately dealing with these criminals in the first place.
David Bain
Maple Ridge