I have some concerns regarding the activities of, Mosquito Consolidated Gold Mines, on the portion of city boulevard across Togo Road from their property. They use the area to store derelict vehicles and mining equipment, likely violating two or three sections of City Bylaw 856, but more importantly, they have also been in the habit of dumping fill material out onto the Trans Canada Trail right-of-way, extending the boulevard and the area upon which they are building their eyesore. This has been going on for years, with a large recent addition on the southern end. And the city is aware of it.
It should be noted that the Trans Canada Trail system isn’t just the narrow path created by foot traffic and ATVs, but extends on either side to include all the property previously owned by Canadian & Western Railway. Where sections of the old railway fence line still exist they delineate a considerable amount of what is now public property and it’s public property whether the fence is there or not.
This is land given to the government by Canadian & Western to become part of the Trans Canada Trail system, a largely natural recreational corridor belonging to all Canadians, not Mosquito Consolidated and not the City of Greenwood. It is a gift, a legacy which should be protected for now and generations to come.
If someone encroaches upon, or even blockades the trail outside of the cities boundaries, and due to a current lack of adequate funding and human resources the government agency responsible is unable to act, then it seems there is nothing anyone can do about it, but when encroachment happens inside city boundaries, and city property is involved, there should be no question about what can and should be done. It’s possible that the cities lack of action over the years to prevent Mosquito Consolidated from using our property as they have could be seen as tacit approval of the company’s activities, putting us in a vulnerable position when the government eventually decides to take action.
I hesitate to make the comparison, but you’re not likely to see this kind of thing happening in Midway, where they see their trails as assets.
Curtis Chamberlain, Gr