I was appalled by Councillor McArthur’s comments during the February 22 Open Air discussion.

I missed part of the meeting because the agenda and link to livestream were not posted on the town’s website but I did check in and found council was discussing the tourism budget.

McArthur’s speech lasted about 5 minutes; Open Air, programming, hotel, the February 21 delegates/ businesses wanting to give the town $20,000, the reception given to them and he was shocked.

How did anyone act like they were urinating on the rug? Listen to the audio. Weren’t members of council just asking the delegates questions?

During the February 21 meeting, Councillor McArthur said everybody he talked to loves Open Air the way it is. He also said he didn’t think that now was the time for speeches on Open Air, that there was no motion on the floor when Councillor Pouget spoke about it.

I emailed him questions: did he not give a speech about the bike trails when there was no motion on the floor? Did he not recall emails I sent to members of council in opposition because it creates barriers to persons with disabilities? Did he only consider the views of people he ‘talked to’ and not consider emails? As council’s rep on the accessibility advisory committee, how will he represent the interests of the disability community?

Councillor McArthur did not respond by the time of writing.