NOISE: Beaconsfield has a moral and social responsibility
When we know that a situation has negative effects on the health of some of our fellow citizens, it seems immoral to us to seek to prevent the resolution of this situation by ignoring these negative consequences.
The city is the heart of its community, the self-centered conception of the city is abandoned in favor of duties to the community which do not correspond only to financial interests.
In Beaconsfield, the public health problem and the attack on the quality of life of the residents near Highway 20 are well known and documented. All mayors have been exposed to these facts, including the current mayor.
In the presence of these disturbing facts, the Beaconsfield municipal administration has not only a legal responsibility, but also a social and moral responsibility to take all reasonable precautions to prevent the spread of these poor health conditions in the population on its territory.
22.1 Moral responsibility
Moral responsibility is the need for a person to answer for his intentions and his actions before his conscience.
When we know that a situation has negative effects on the health of some of our fellow citizens, it seems immoral to us to seek to prevent the resolution of this situation by ignoring these negative consequences.
From a moral point of view, there is no significant difference between doing and letting go, between killing and letting die, between making sick and not doing everything in our power to avoid illness.
Moral responsibility refers to the respect of rules which base a human life around certain values.
It is according to the values of good and evil that morality fixes principles of action, which are called the duties of the human being, vis-à-vis himself or other individuals, or of society as a whole, or of higher ideals (tradition, harmony, peace, god, etc.), principles that define what to do and how to act.
22.2 Social responsibility
The city is the heart of its community and sees itself endowed with a mission of collective and social interest. The city’s social responsibility stems from its sensitivity to themes of general interest.
The city has duties towards the community which do not correspond only to it’s financial interests.
From the perspective of social responsibility, the concept of the city centered on itself is abandoned in favor of a perspective of the common good. The rules are established and followed because they are good for everyone.
The public health of one third of the population of Beaconsfield is at stake. It is a social and collective responsibility. The city cannot escape this by alleging financial obstacles. If there is no money for public health, then there is even less to build a new Cultural center including a library, to repair a marina or to repair four swimming pools at a cost of 4 M$ each. How are we going to finance all these beautiful projects, although laudable, but which do not have a direct effect on the health of citizens living near the highway, who have endured excessive noise that has undermined their health for many years?