I am writing to express my concern over ongoing city-biased reporting by the Peak and specifically with regards to the reporting of the November 3, 2021, special finance committee meeting [“City of Powell River finance committee reviews recommendations from advisory group,” November 8].
In the article at hand, the Peak reported councillor Maggie Hathaway naming a member of the public in a question to the CFO about the city’s financial state: “She said she had seen on Facebook several times a statement by…saying the city is very close to bankruptcy.”
The Peak further reported mayor Dave Formosa’s statement at that meeting: “Formosa said with regard to…, he did not know what authority or credentials…has to make such a comment.”
In my opinion, the mayor and councillor Hathaway demonstrated a lack of integrity, and reckless behaviour in what appears to be an attempt by the finance committee to malign the character of a member of the public. Equally reckless and, at its core improper reporting, the Peak published the individual’s name.
The finance committee was not responding to any formal correspondence nor specific agenda item from the named individual, but rather to councillor Hathaway’s social media habits and “bankruptcy question.”
At a minimum, the Peak should have conducted basic, fair reporting: researched social media posts, repeated its own previous reporting of the CFO’s statements that Powell River’s financial position is not sustainable; and more importantly, provided the named individual an opportunity to respond. In doing so, it would have discovered many social media posts from many people concerned about city finances and that the named individual’s credentials include forensic accounting experience.
The community at large deserves fair, unbiased reporting, not constant city-biased coverage.
I strongly urge the Peak to retract this article and apologize to the named individual for enabling the finance committee to publicly malign this person’s character.
Sherry Burton,
Ontario Avenue
