Editor:
I am writing in response to the Aug. 6 article "Banff mayor responds to accusations of financial wrongdoing," which I read with interest having received one of the Kelly-MacVicar packages yesterday morning in Banff.
A man, hesitant to give me his name, or look me in the eye, eventually identified himself as Barry Kelly as he hand delivered his epistle of complaint.
He did not seem at all interested in discussing exactly what gave him the right to claim in it that he is speaking on behalf of Banff citizens.
No, he wanted to drop his seven-pager, like an anonymous bag of doggie poo, at my door and run. This surreptitious delivery and complete lack of author background in the "report" gave me no way of assessing the credibility of his claims.
Are the authors actually better qualified than the RCMP or a third party investigator to identify criminal wrongdoing? No.
Is either one a municipal ombudsman, responsible to an elected official and the voting public? No.
So a couple of citizens have nursed a grievance, photocopied and delivered hundreds of pieces of paper despite the findings of two investigations that clearly state, "No Wrongdoing."
What's the harm? Let me tell you.
Vexasious investigations are costly to taxpayers. Yes, in a free society, we should voice our concerns about our leaders.
But, with that right comes the responsibility to accept that our complaints do not always stand up to scrutiny.
Moreover, Mayor Karen Sorensen, like every responsible leader in the world right now, is working hard to protect her constituents from a global pandemic. I would prefer that her time and energy be spent addressing the devastations of COVID-19 than indulging such unfounded complaints.
In conclusion, I hope that I will not receive further deliveries from Mr. Kelly. The first one, environmentally unfriendly, factually vacuous, and a potential virus spreader, was more than enough.
Mary Yanchus,
Banff
