The beat goes on. Neil Godbout has singled me out again in his editorials as a city councillor, but seems to forget I am only one of eight councillors and am not the mayor, yet he devotes a disproportional amount of time criticizing my stand on a number of issues. I know being elected to public office opens me up at times to criticism and I accept that. However, I feel Neil crossed the line on July 10 in his Five Per Cent Solution article when he makes the bizarre suggestion I am "perhaps worried" about the business license fee increases to escort services, body rub parlours and exotic dancing. Neil Godbout owed it to me to ask for my thoughts about business license fees as it pertains to these types of businesses.
In fact I did all I could in my second term on council to help develop a bylaw that would prevent these types of facilities from opening up in residential areas of the community.
The point I was making during the core review meeting on July 8 was that a 30 per cent increase in the business license fees to local businesses, especially small businesses who are the major employers in our community, was too much. Going after businesses with the increase that was suggested would not be fair or good for the economy.
For Neil to continue to oppose some of the questions I asked regarding financial accountability mystifies me. The watchdog of all levels of government spending is the media and they should also be asking the tough financial questions.
Brian Skakun, Prince George
