- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor
While working at a short-term temporary job as an enumerator with the 2016 census, Monika Bruaer broke her foot – she heard it crack. She'd stepped in an overgrown hole in a lawn where there was no front walk – ironically, the hole left when a landlord removed a hedge that the City deemed a problem.
It was the end of her employment with the census, and kept her from her own dog-grooming business for weeks. Her motorcycle had to be parked for months.
Monika's life story is one of strength and resilience, and it's hers to tell, but she got right back up and is now taking the lead in her community after a long weekend of emergency calls topped months of dangerous situations in her neighbourhood.
Monika says the Owen Sound Police (OSPS) have been great – responsive and calm. But there are limits to what the police can do. We are fortunate to live in a country under the rule of law – where people do not disappear, and you cannot go to jail just because someone is sure that they "know" something about you. Police know that they are neither law-makers nor judges.
There is definitely a role for the City and County in creating and enforcing their by-laws and public health standards to uphold both the safety and property-values of their residents. By-law creation is the responsibility of our elected officials – mayor and councils – and enforcement is back in the hands of City staff in the City Clerk's department after a brief experiment using Owen Sound Police personnel. Recent changes in By-law staffing at the City are still taking affect.
So what is the citizen's part in all this? Monika has started a petition to make the issues clear to City officials and gauge the level of support. She has set up an email and a Facebook page and is open to any suggestions on how to make positive changes in problem areas of the city.
The by-law system is, as the City Manager Wayne Ritchie emphasized, complaint-driven, but care has to be taken that by-law enforcement is not being used as neighbourhood revenge, or because one does not share another's aesthetic.
Mayor Ian Boddy is reported as saying that any petition will be taken very seriously by Council, but does he understand the issues? He is reported by Bayshore Broadcasting as saying "... it seems right now that we have some issues with garbage being left out by certain tenants and sort of a lack of respect for the neighbours" which sounds more like the DIA's complaints, not residents'.
Monika named her Facebook group "Neighbours Against Drugs and Crime Action Group" for a reason. It isn't "Taypayers for a Prettier Owen Sound". Her community is concerned about assaults, weapons, property damage, drug paraphernalia accessible to children, and absentee landlords who take no responsibility. Focussing only on tenants – always an easy target - does nothing to address larger issues. The residents are ready for action, and they expect support from their City – both staff and Council.
Already neighbours are planning "Take Back Our City" parties and events – where the community shows that they are where they belong – in streets and neighbourhoods they have a right to enjoy.
Will the City follow its citizens' lead?
