When it comes to city business bylaws, father knows best
KAMLOOPS — Have you ever wondered if our local government is stuck in the late 1950s sitcom world of Father Knows Best? A world more familiar to their parents and grandparents and a make believe world where city hall would certainly feel comfortable imposing morality bylaws such as the recent cannabis business licensing affair.
It is as though team city hall lives in a privileged and cocooned world that refuses to acknowledge, let alone accept, a changing world. It is also a team that will now try frightening landlords into complying with the will of the city. Obedience is demanded and to disobey will come with a $10,000-a-day fine.
We went through much of the same bad judgment and public disconnect when Save- On Foods asked for permission to sell wine. For some, that meant the world was coming to an end and I can recall a city councillor or two predicting sudden and huge increases in drinking and drunkenness. Availability of premium wines in a grocery store was a formula certain to result in increased consumption, underage drinking and the rapid decline of law and order in Kamloops.
Since then, I haven’t seen large numbers of those who can afford to drink VQA wines sitting on the curbside of downtown streets, tipping back bottles of their favourite fine wines, while asking passersby for a spare $40. As a result, I think it is safe to say that concerns for Kamloops turning into a Sodom and Gomorrah were just a bit misplaced.