Tuesday, September 10, 2013

WL Council kills $$$ support for Orange Shirt Day

By a vote of 4-2, WL Council declined to reconsider its' August 27th decision to not financially support Orange Shirt Day on Sept 30th

Those in favour of reconsideration -- Mayor Kerry Cook & Councillor Sue Zacharias (2)
Those opposed - Councillors Ivan Bonnell, Geoff Bourdon, Danica Hughes and Surinderpal Rathor (4)

I'm told Councillor Laurie Walters arrived at tonight's WL Council meeting after the above decision was made

With this decision, unless Mayor Cook uses her power under Section 131 of the Community Charter to have Council re-vote on this item, the City will not contribute funds to Orange Shirt Day 2013.  CRD Area F Director Joan Sorley informs me that the Committee for Orange Shirt Day have adjusted their budget based on WL Council's decision.  Councillor Rathor also tells me that he personally intends to make a financial contribution to this event

While I personally regret this decision (I committed $300 from CRD Area D Special Project Funds for Orange Shirt Day), I appreciate why Council needed to make the decision they did (i.e.: support one group, do you support all groups or where do you 'draw the line')

-- SBF

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