The Editor:
I am a senior on a fixed income and have to be very careful to manage my money to make ends meet, especially with so many costs increasing.
One of the small pleasures in my life is treating myself to lunch at A&W on Shaughnessy Street in Port Coquitlam once every two weeks.
Imagine my surprise when my visit last month included a new 25-cent fee for a paper to-go bag.
How else am I supposed to take my meal to the nearby park to enjoy it?
Twenty-five cents may not be a lot to some, but it adds up and the cost of the meal has already gone up.
When I inquired why this fee was being applied I was told it was a “city bylaw."
This did not seem right to me, as I had heard our wonderful mayor speaking on the radio saying that Port Coquitlam would not follow the lead of Vancouver and Surrey in instituting such a fee as he felt it was penalizing lower income people.
I agree.
I called Mayor Brad West and told him of my experience.
He got back to me immediately and confirmed my belief that no such bylaw existed in our city.
He was concerned to hear that A&W was gouging people an extra 25 cents and using what Vancouver has done as a cover.
He promised me he would take immediate action.
The very next day I decided to go to A&W again and guess what? The fee was gone!
I inquired why with an employee and was told that city bylaws had come by yesterday. I could hardly believe it.
I feel very lucky that Mayor West is such a caring and responsive individual. He didn’t just talk, he took action just as he promised.
Thank you, Mayor West, for looking out for residents, especially seniors with low incomes.
And A&W, you should be giving back the extra 25 cents you were taking from your customers.
- Linda Shaw, Port Coquitlam
