Residents in Sooke are concerned about the imminent tax hikes to pay for the new sewer system.


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Ombudsman or propagandist?

Letter to the Editor, Sooke News Mirror, December 18, 2002 by George Butcher

Editor:

Given Mayor Macgregor’s obsession for sewers and an ocean outfall, we might need the independent voice of an ombudsman to act with fairness and to give the public honest answers. However, the mayor’s appointment of councillor John Farmer as sewer ombudsman has dispelled any notion that fairness is in the offing.

By definition, an ombudsman is impartial and independent. Councillor Farmer, as well know, is an owner of commercial property in the core and an unabashed promoter of sewers and ocean outfall at any cost. By practice, ombudsmen, over a 200-year history, exhibit three criteria: 1. they are not elected, 2. they are not advocates and 3. they do not defend the actions of a governing body. Councillor Farmer does not meet any of these tests.

As a former government bureaucrat, Mayor Macgregor knows what an ombudsman is. This is either a cynical move to fool the public or he has erred in judgement. He should either remove John Farmer from the appointment or call the position something more truthful, for example sewer promoter or sewer propagandist.


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