Upkeep Homework

I read Canada.com regularly, sticking to the Victoria Times Colonist stories. One article from Mar 15 got me a little riled.

Hatley castle is a wonderful place to take pictures, and it sickens me that they want to erect a fence around the castle and the gardens so that they can charge an admission fee. I understand that they want to recoop their cost of upkeep, but surely Royal Roads did their homework when they took over the grounds? Didn’t they do financial forecasts to ensure they could afford this?

I really have no sympathy for them if they did no homework. That is a pet peeve of mine when this happens. Who has to pay? The public? How is that right? Those park grounds have been free for as long as I have lived in Victoria.

Like I said, I am sickened by this change. Yes I have a vested interest in keeping it free. I have gone on photo shoots there a couple times now, and would like to continue to keep shooting there. Not sure how likely I will be willing to pay to do this.