Protest locked gate

The people who think that the actions taken by our elected officials are starting to dilute their rights and freedoms may want to look around a bit. Those people should start on a little smaller protest scale to get their experience and awareness up.

How about this example: On the public boardwalk on the waterside of the Hotel Eldorado there has been an (prohibited) gate erected and locked for nearly two years, blockading public access.

The locked gate is on the public right-of-way beachfront boardwalk. The city did not put it there and the city says it’s illegal.

The boardwalk is supposed to be available to the public from sunset to sunrise in perpetuity every day. The management that made a decision to build and lock this blockade have taken a “right and freedom” away from the public and there is not one person with a sign protesting.

This is a public right-of–way first—the private and business dining tables are secondary. The management (representatives) I spoke to wants to protect the patrons, staff and public, from Covid.

I believe the managers responsible should remove the dinning option from the public right-of-way until it is safe to put them back and not remove the public’s right of free access by illegally blocking the walkway.

In my opinion, blocking the boardwalk makes it seem like someone wants to protect the safety of the lucrative bottom line derived from using public assets without actually allowing any public access. The city should, and must, stop all agreements or arrangements on public land and right-of-ways so taxpayers do not have to spend city resources on legal fees and bylaw officers trying to enforce straight forward lease agreements.

So, for all of you who would like to exercise your rights and freedoms, please do so at the Cook Street boat launch and then march onto the public right-of-way boardwalk along the waterfront at the Hotel Eldorado .

When you come to the locked gate, you will experience how it feels to have one of your rights and freedoms taken away.

The gatekeepers won’t even open it even if you have a vaccine passport.

Roberto Basso, Kelowna