Castlegar’s mayor wants her council to give her the go-ahead to appeal to provincial authorities about a rash of suspicious fires in the community this year.
Maria McFaddin presented a notice of motion this week, which will be discussed at council’s next meeting on Dec. 18.
Her motion says a 240 per cent increase in arson this year has created a risk to public safety and that the RCMP believes one person is responsible for more than one-third of the fires.
However, she said while RCMP have recommended four separate charges against the suspect, no charges have been approved despite police “providing the Crown with a complete history of the fires, the serious concerns it has and the number of fires the suspect is believed to be associated with.”
Her resolution said the city, its fire department, police and residents are “feeling powerless and increasingly concerned for the community’s safety.”
She proposes to write to Mike Farnworth, who is the solicitor general and minister of public safety, and Niki Sharma, the attorney general, asking their offices to “review the situation and pursue solutions to restore public confidence and community safety.”