In April 2008, two members of our group attended meetings with FVRD Reps.,
Ministry of Agriculture staff and directors of the BC Blueberry Council to try
to negotiate changes to the current Guidelines for Propane Cannon use in the
Fraser Valley.
With help and additional "arm twisting" from Provincial MLA Randy Hawes,
changes will be implemented for the 2008 blueberry season.
The changes include:
1. an increase in the distance from a cannon to nearby residences,
from 150 to
200 meters.
2. blueberry growers must now stop using cannons for a 3 hour
period
from noon to 3:00PM.
The updated guidelines are also on the Ministry of Agriculture's web site at the
following link:
Propane Cannon Guidelines in the Fraser Valley
For residents of Delta, Surrey & Pitt Meadows, and other communities which
have these guidelines implemented in municipal bylaws, it
may be necessary to have a bylaw change to put the guidelines into affect.
You should contact your municipal bylaws staff ASAP to find out more.
If blueberry growers in these communities use municipal bylaws as "the law" and
ignore
the new changes, you should complain to the BC Blueberry Council, your
municipal Mayor and Council, and send a copy of your complaint to Randy
Hawes. We also suggest that
you push your municipality to remove these guidelines from bylaws. More
changes will be coming in future, and having guidelines in municipal bylaws is
just a needless additional hurdle to be overcome.
If the new guidelines are not followed in your community, please let us know at
Ban the Cannons. We will fight for you as best we can.
Send us an e-mail at:
bancannons@hotmail.com
