I appreciate very much the letter from CAO Wayne Staudt of the City of Cranbrook and I must say I regret that City staff have been thrust into the spotlight here because in my experience, government staff cannot defend themselves. I know Mr. Staudt to be a man of honour and I also know that City staff, including the Chief Engineer, are capable and professional. There is no chance that Cranbrook City staff will lose its strong relationship with the provincial government.
What the public is still waiting for, however, is an explanation from the mayor and those three councillors who spoke at the public meeting.
Why did they tell the Townsman they were "scrapping" the DCC's? Why did they say the B.C. government "refused to approve the new bylaw". Why did they say the Province is to blame for an "18 month delay"? Did they not know that a departed staff member had dropped the ball? Were they really in the dark about this? Or did they discuss the matter in camera before the public meeting and decide they could get away with blaming the Province and pretending the Province "refused" to sign off on this bylaw?
Bill Bennett MLA
Kootenay East