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By highwater (registered) | Posted April 14, 2007 at 19:16:10
Typical bureaucratic response to justified public outrage. They spew out all the rules and regulations and we're all supposed to sit back and say "oh well then, nevermind." If Mr. Peace thinks he can placate us with his defense of the city's building inspectors, he is mistaken. I'm sure the building inspectors are conscientous and conduct themselves professionally. When they're given the chance that is. The problem is not with the inspectors, contary to Peace's little bait and switch, but with the staff who allowed this work to proceed without a permit.
Of course, no self-respecting builder would do such shoddy work even if they are not subject to regular inspections, but as far as I'm concerned, the fault is shared equally between the city and the builder.
Peace also tries to placate us with the little stat that only 208 orders to comply were issued out of 4,236 permits issued. Orders to comply are only issued after repeated complaints by watchful citizens. That 208 is only the tip of the iceberg of illegal work being done in this city. Where I live in Westdale, landlords are constantly converting family homes to multiple resident dwellings without permits and proper inspections. They are only caught when residents notice and care enough to contact the building department, and it often takes several calls to get action. The landlords are then allowed to apply for permits and there is no penalty for doing illegal work. I suppose Peace would see this as "working to remedy the problem before laying charges", but it sends the message that there are no consequences for performing illegal work. And of course, once drywall is up, inspectors are powerless to have it taken down to see if wiring and plumbing has been done to proper standards. There have been two fires recently in student houses where the students have just made it out in time and still there are no penalties for doing illegal work. I suppose someone has to die before the city takes its responsibilities seriously.
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