This letter is in response to Mr. Trelford’s letter entitled What was the Point of a report on a Report? I would respectfully like to correct Mr. Trelford’s interpretation regarding the events at the Feb. 3 council meeting in which Mr. Spring Harrison was denied the opportunity to present his findings.
First of all, Dr. Smith is an esteemed professor at UVic’s school of business and not a reporter. Secondly, Mr. Harrison was attempting to present Dr. Smith’s critique of the consultant’s report which has been considered by many North Saanich residents to be highly biased and, therefore, of little value. Thirdly, Dr. Smith’s final remarks were worded in strong language, in that he said “In my opinion, the convenience nature of the sample, and significant limitations in the question wording and measurement scales (answer choices) in this particular survey warrants significant caution in making key administrative or policy decisions based on the results of this survey.”
What has bothered those who believe a well planned and informed housing implementation policy be based on a survey that everyone could accept, is that it has now been based on this very flawed survey. Apparently this was the wish of the majority of the councillors who voted to silence Mr. Harrison.
L. Wingate
North Saanich