During a passionate, fiery and — at times — emotional presentation, resident Michel Labonte didn’t hold back in denouncing city council’s passive attitude toward the location of the proposed joint-use school.
Labonte was one of two people — the other was Jan Radwanski — who spoke during council’s Feb. 13 regular meeting against bylaw changes that removed several hurdles facing the school project in the Westheath subdivision on South Hill.
Council later voted 4-2 in favour of all three bylaw amendments, which means — because the votes were not unanimous — the changes will only become official once council approves them on Feb. 27.
‘You have the power’
This issue cuts to the heart of the community’s well-being and that of its children, Labonte said. Residents voted for council to stand up for the community’s rights — “You have the power (to stop this)” — but this entire situation is wrong.
The concerns that Radwanski has raised over the past few years are true, while all the required studies — including actual public consultation about the Westheath site — have not been completed, he continued.
Labonte urged council to pause this project by encouraging both school divisions and the province to return to the original plan to build a new school on either the Westmount or Sacred Heart sites.
“… (this would) keep alive this wonderful neighbourhood that we taxpayers and our grandparents and everyone have paid for (and built). You want to destroy that,” he said with emotion.
“You are just sitting there. You don’t have the guts to get up and say, ‘No! No, we’re not going to do that.’”
Labonte noted that this issue has kept him awake at night, and as a 22-year resident, he is worried it will affect the community’s growth. Furthermore, he didn’t think Moose Jaw should accept money from the province in exchange for its residential development potential.
Residents can’t continue to pay more taxes, especially to support a school project that could cost $50 million, he continued.
Labonte thought Prairie South and Holy Trinity school divisions should develop a smarter, less costly plan for a new school to be built on an existing school site. He also thought council should ask the provincial government to close loopholes that allowed rich people to hide their money.
“Let’s have the guts to ask our government to start to have the big, rich people pay their taxes so we can have money for our school … . Stand up, wake up!” he exclaimed while pounding the podium, adding emotionally, “How depressive it is.”
Labonte rebuked council for allowing more than 1,000 children to be sent to a school in the far southwest corner. He believed that children should learn and socialize in a small building, which would prepare them for a larger building in high school and university.
He didn’t believe that closing four schools would save money since it would likely cost more to maintain the new joint-use building. He also thought that many people working in the four elementary schools — like janitors — would likely lose their jobs, while conversely, dozens of new bus drivers would be required to transport the kids across the city.
“I prefer paying more taxes to keep those places (existing schools) alive than paying less taxes to put these little kids in a chicken coop,” Labonte said emotionally.
Labonte urged council to look in the mirror, think about this, and seriously consider what Radwanski has said.
“No one wants to really talk about the truth about what’s happening,” he added, before leaving council chambers, his cries echoing throughout the halls.
The next regular council meeting is Monday, Feb. 27.
