Why does Sarnia have a noise bylaw if it’s not enforced?
Sir: I read with interest the article in the March 25 edition regarding business owners defying the lockdown order.
To me, the interesting point was the fact that Sarnia actually had two bylaw enforcement officers supported by four uniformed Sarnia Police officers swiftly move in to enforce the rules.
However, we have another scourge in our city that is not going away, and is in fact getting significantly worse every year, and affects everyone.
Where are these six officers on a Friday night when the downtown is being vandalized by unmuffled racing cars, trucks and motorcycles in direct contravention of our city’s noise bylaws?
The bylaw clearly state that the operation of any combustible engine without an exhaust muffling device in good working order and in constant operation is prohibited, and also, that no person shall emit, cause or permit the emission of noise within the municipality which is likely to disturb the inhabitants.
With summer coming and our local restaurants wanting to open their patios it would be helpful to them and the general public if these officers would enforce some of our other bylaws.
David Lundy
Sarnia
Please stop littering, there is no planet B
Sir: I lower the window of my vehicle and toss out my coffee cup/water bottle/pop can/fast food wrapper onto the street or highway median.
It was delicious, but I’m finished with it and don’t want my vehicle to smell or have litter in it.
The above is me trying to understand those who litter. I don’t quite know when they came to think it was OK to litter our environment, but I do know I am tired of seeing their garbage in our beautiful parks, in ditches, and along Highway 402 exits and on ramps.
With COVID, we all need an escape from the “litter” of bad news, and a lot of us are getting outdoors more than ever to enjoy nature and clear our heads.
Please, take responsibility for your garbage and take it home to dispose of, or use the receptacles that are everywhere these days for recyclables and garbage.
Signed, Tired of all Your Garbage.
Carrie Ward
Sarnia
Maskless protest did more harm than good
Sir: This letter is for all those that joined the mass gathering at City Hall on March 20 without taking COVID-19 precautions.
They defeated their own supposed purpose, and they proved their mentality is the reason we’re still enduring so many restrictions.
Their actions during this mass spreader event spoke louder than words.
The majority of us are tired and frustrated that we cannot get this virus under control. We’re trying to help support local businesses any way we can, but their actions did more harm than good.
Debbie Chapman
Sarnia
To help elderly, we need long-term care alternatives
Sir: Roger Gallaway speaks truth when he says the horrendous conditions exposed in long-term care are a national disgrace. (“Former MP decries ‘horrendous’ treatment of elderly,” March 25).
What he doesn’t say is that there are no alternatives for seniors to choose from. He notes the need to invest in homecare so people can age in place, as is done in Denmark. But without other options, seniors are forced into institutions because there is nowhere else to turn.
I challenge everyone to find any senior looking forward to being ‘placed’ in a long-term institution. They want to stay in their home, surrounded by the memories of lives lived with family and friends. Do we not owe this to our elders?
The Ontario government has not learned from history and the past horrors associated with the institutional model of care, and is refusing to listen to the experts who say the current ‘imprisonment’ of our elders in the name of ‘protection’ is extremely harmful; the decline in so many is so evident.
Why is there little noise about it? Because society devalues seniors and people with disabilities, as well as those who try hard to make their lives better. To see these horrors end there must be a shift from the normative thinking that when you get old, you go into long-term care.
When you get old and need help, the daily rate of institutional care should help you and your family build the supports you need.
As Gallaway noted, Ontario’s population is ageing. Investment in quality, easily accessible, reliable homecare is needed today, and when that is no longer possible, then small community-based real ‘homes’ are needed.
The daily rate of funding a long-term care bed would go a long way to providing support, based on need, in which people can continue to participate, smell real food cooking, eat what they want, when they want, wander in the garden, and choose when to see their family.
We must start right now to fund people and their families, instead of funding ‘beds.’
Joyce Balaz
London