Hang on to West Island communities

The following is an excerpt from that letter which appeared on Oct. 9, 2002 and despite the fact that; at first glance it may appear as an obituary it most definitely is not.

“Roxboro was and remains a small community of approximately 6,000, nestled between those of Pierrefonds and Dollard des Ormeaux and bordered by Riviere des Prairies to the north. According to the dictionary, a community can be defined as “an interacting population of various kinds of individuals in a common location.” That’s a definition that definitely describes Roxboro. It remains a community in which Rue Commercial still looks and acts like the main strip and centre of town, where the vast majority of those who commute daily by train can actually walk to the train station and neighbours continue to look out for neighbours.”

Fast forward to today, six years later and what has changed? Again, I find myself sitting at my computer drafting a contribution to The Chronicle. Where do I begin? Well, we’ve been merged into Dollard, then subsequently pushed out of Dollard due to the de-merger vote, dropped in Pierrefonds without a say and here we remain. But; we are still Roxboro. So again what has changed? The population has likely grown but then again, we are still relatively small, so what has really changed? I know what has changed - dogs are no longer welcomed in parks or was that always the case and the regulations were ignored? Not sure, so perhaps not much has changed as for the most part, the regulations continue to be ignored – or is it that they are simply tolerated? Not sure – and yes and I am a dog owner. So what has changed? Let’s see - city hall is no longer city hall but the Eco-quartier which is the place to buy coffee or drop off that used cork from the lovely bottle of wine you enjoyed on the week-end. Just kidding! The environment is of concern to many, including myself, and those who staff it do provide a valuable service and; I might also add that I have two blue boxes and both of which are usually filled to the rim each week. So what has changed? The volunteer fire-department went the way of the dodo bird but we now benefit from the city fire services – so what has changed? Not sure, as we are still serviced and protected. So what has changed? Certainly not the community so one last time - what has changed?

I know what has changed! We have become a parking lot for the rest of commuters who cannot walk to the train!

— Debbie Ristimaki is a Roxboro resident.