Editor,
I couldn't believe my eyes last week when I read that Squamish council was considering taking the municipal vote away from non-resident property owners ["Council recommends no vote for non-resident property owners," The Chief April 9].
Non-resident property owners pay more taxes than a resident property owner as the resident gets to claim the Home Owner Grant while the non-resident pays the full freight.
So council is saying the people who pay the most taxes don't deserve a minute say in how the town they invested in is run?
Now I suspected (and Tim Shoults's editorial confirmed) that most non-resident property owners don't vote anyway ["Let them vote," The Chief, April 9].
Shoults looked at the last Whistler election, where 166 non-resident property owners voted for mayor compared to almost 2,700 locals. That is in a town where the vast majority of property owners are not local citizens.
For Squamish to be considering banning non-resident property owners from voting in municipal elections sends a message that we are a cliquey, non-inclusive town that is closed for business.
Council needs to reconsider this recommendation.
Jess LaFramboise
Squamish
