Skip to content

LETTER: Rather than fund traffic circle art and drug users in Surrey, let’s help our kids

Our students need taxpayer dollars, not our city's roundabouts and drug addicts.
66973surreynowdrugoverdose5
One reader asks why taxpayer dollars are used to fund law enforcement agencies to arrest drug users and dealers

The Editor,

I recently flipped through an issue of the Now and, to my dismay, found two articles about suggestions/recommendations/requests for the City of Surrey to fund outrightly absurd things.

The first thing I read about was being a debate on whether or not to erect a $90,000 statue in a traffic circle (for decorative purposes!?). The other article was about people wanting the city to fund a program for drug addicts.

The last time I checked Canada’s laws, street drugs were illegal. And, from what I was taught in high school, these laws apply to all residents of our country.

So, why on earth do we pay taxpayer dollars to fund our law enforcement agencies to arrest drug users and dealers, and then have those same tax paying dollars go to funding our city to help those people who continue to knowingly break the law?

The law is the law. Break it and you should be penalized – not given a free program (funded by the respectful law-abiding citizens who pay their taxes) to help them with their illegal habits.

I look at our disgustingly overcrowded schools that have portables in the double digits and wonder why these requested funds for statues and drug-addiction help programs aren’t put towards our youth.

Did you know that every single Grade 9 and 10 student in Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary must share a half-sized locker with another student for the entire school year?

These half-lockers can’t even hold all of the binders and textbooks (not to mention jackets, backpacks, gym clothes) so most of these children walk around all day carrying their belongings, text books, band instruments, etc.

Could you imagine if anyone working at city hall had no place to leave even their jacket?  I’m sure they would have a solution within under a week.

Even though our kids experience this every day for 10 months, there are thoughts of using $90,000 to erect a statue for decorative purposes and we’re also talking about funding law-breaking drug users?

It’s very sad, disgusting and disturbing that our very own city can’t see past their own feet.

Our students need these funds, not our roundabout and drug addicts. Come on Surrey – let’s start using our brains to put our taxpayer dollars to logical and practical use.

Orianne Jangula, Surrey