By Staff
December 23rd, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
Aerial view of the condominium where five were killed by an unstable resident.
The Vaughan Slaughter
Joe Gaetan, a long time civic activist, is angry.
He lives in a condominium and tells us that
“Thousands of volunteer condo board members toil away supporting over 1.6 million condo residents.
“Five are blown away by a mentally unstable person and what do they get – crickets.
“Condo boards have no tools to deal with mental issues meanwhile the 824,000 condo units contribute $1 per month per unit or over $840,000 per month to support the CAO.
“Twenty two people were killed in N.S and Canada lost its mind.
“Are you beginning to get the picture?
“Was Villis semi-automatic hand gun illegal? Crickets.
“Does Justin want to know if it was? I doubt it.
“Did MMW and Karina hold a vigil or use social media to offer condolences?
“Are condos the governments go to solution to intensification? Yes.”
Steven Del Duca managed to make the most of it, holding an on site presser the morning after.
For the record I contacted Lisa Kearns my ward councilor and she forwarded my my request to Mayor Meed Ward who saw to it that the flags were lowered at City Hall on Dec 22.
Accusing politicians of “missing a photo op” is a bit of a stretch. Especially politicians in another jurisdiction (with the telling omission of MPP Nathalie Pierre!).
Mixed in with all this tripe is an important point: property owners of all kinds, and especially rental landlords, have no defense against abuse by obnoxious if not crazy individuals. Bylaw enforcement is a joke, legal protections are few, and police do not intervene until it is too late.
I hardly think that asking our city, or for that matter our provincial or federal representatives to pay respect to the victims in this event, or to lower the flags is stupid, silly, or has little value (tripe). Our country and city are well known for having a conscience and are usually front and centre when it comes to such matters. Please do not conflate, generalize, or minimize what happens in condo’s or happened in Vaughan until you have walked in the shoes of a volunteer condo board member.
I understand your concern about this horrible event and your recommended action. But where do we draw the line? Many terrible things happen closer to home in Burlington/Hamilton, and rushing to convey symbolic sympathy without clear guidelines (and I am sure they exist in a city bylaw somewhere) can easily get out of control and bring negative reaction. The headline of this article, suggesting a “missing out on a photo op”, is instructive in implying a likely criticism.
And yes, I have walked in the shoes of a volunteer condo board member, although not recently, and I would certainly have some reservations doing so today.
Past tributes have had more to do with “respect” for a class of Canadians or professions than geography. And especially Police Officers, and as recent as yesterday. There are over 700 Condo Corps in Halton. Using an average of 3 board members per corp over 2,100 volunteer board members devote their time to the betterment of their constituents, if not them, then who? The geography of the victims has historically had no bounds.
A tribute amongst other things has value beyond “symbolic sympathy” and that is to bring much needed attention to the context of the situation that preceded the event in the hope that the underlying problem will get the proper attention.