Two More Useless Bylaws

The Brantford City council has passed two bylaws aimed at the current native protests. They deal with interference with construction or access to property, and attempts by a native organization to charge unauthorized fees. Why the interference bylaw only deals with three specific sites and not the whole city is a mystery. But why are these bylaws even necessary given that there are other laws to deal with these illegal activities and who is going to enforce them anyway seeing how the police have refused to enforce those other laws? In the best case scenario if enforcement is made the natives will just move on to other sites not covered by this bylaw, in the worse case we may have a full blown occupation under way in Brantford. If this happens I hope it is on Erie Ave. seeing how it was the neighbours who called in the natives in the first place. Be careful what you wish for.

But most likely the passage of these bylaws was just another grandstanding move by the current Council which has just stood by wringing it's hands as development grinds to a halt in Brantford. ( There is no need for the Ontario Government to impose a development freeze in this area as discussed below; it has already happened). And these bylaws will just join a long list of bylaws like the no open burning one, that are never enforced anyway.