Skip to content

OUR VIEW: Protest is the political method du jour

We say: The mayor didn’t follow the rules, why should we?

Should we take a cue from our mayor and urge Campbell River taxpayers to not pay their taxes this year; in protest of the 13.6 per cent tax increase?

Why not?

That’s right, when you get that tax notice take it out to your front yard and burn it! Yeah. We can do it! You don’t have to take this tax increase lying down!

Wait. Let’s all meet down at Robert Ostler Park and burn our tax notices together! It will be the Campbell River equivalent of the Boston Tea Party.

Lets chuck our notices in the chuck!

But whatever we do, don’t give Phil Hicks the megaphone. He’ll just insist you behave yourselves and that’s not what this is about. This is civil disobedience. Protest. Outrage so justifiable we don’t have to follow the rules. That’s the way it’s done these days. Just look at Seattle on May 1.

Say what, not paying your taxes is illegal?

If the mayor doesn’t have to follow legal and moral responsibility, why do we? The highest ranking moral and legal representative of the voters of Campbell River did reject a decision by a democratically-elected civic body and urged you all not to take it. Protest, he said. But why stop there? Why not just refuse to pay the tax increase...

But, of course, we’re just “joking.” Right? We don’t really want you to show your dissatisfaction by breaking the rules. The mayor showed his dissatisfaction by breaking, if not rules, then the moral obligation to represent the duly constituted city council.

What happens when there’s a rezoning application he’s opposed to? Will he urge the neighbours to storm city hall again? I guess we’ll wait and see...