In May, 2009 the BC Farm Industry Review Board (BCFIRB) issued their report
and recommendations for the use of propane cannons in the Fraser Valley of
British Columbia.
As was to be expected, this farmer friendly group sided with the blueberry
industry and did not recommend a single change to the current
guidelines
for the use of propane cannons.
As a result of this inaction, opposition to propane cannons will continue to
grow in the BC Fraser Valley. Hundreds of new blueberry fields will be coming
on-line in the next few years affecting many more residents.
Complaints will continue to grow.
The BCFIRB, along with the Ministry of Agriculture and the blueberry industry
had an opportunity here to make reasonable concessions and propose compromise
solutions in areas where residents are most affected by the noise. However, by
offering NOTHING, they have simply heightened the resolve of all affected
residents to push on for a total ban of propane cannons.
On
their web site,
the BCFIRB claim the following as their mandate: "BCFIRB is accountable to
government for its administrative operations, but is independent of government
in its decision-making. As an independent tribunal,
BCFIRB ensures that the public interest is served and protected
." It would be more appropriate if they came right out and said, "BCFIRB
ensures that farmer's interests are served and protected".
The BCFIRB claim to "provide a balanced approach to resolving concerns about
farming for the increasing number of British Columbians who live near farm
operations. The FPPA protects farmers who use normal farm practices."
Somewhere along the way the BCFIRB have lost the distinction between what is
considered "normal" versus what is "acceptable".
If you wish to read the document produced by the BCFIRB, it can be found on
their web site at the following link:
BCFIRB Propane Cannon Review, 2009
And one last thought. The BCFIRB staff who created this document included the
names of everyone who participated in the process except their own. I wonder
why?
Here are a list of facts that the BCFIRB chose to ignore:
1. Fraser Valley municipalities are strongly opposed to the use of propane cannons. The FVRD voted unanomously for a ban. FVRD input was provided to the BCFIRB for their consideration.
2. The City of Abbotsford refuses to accept the Ministry of Agriculture's propane cannon guidelines and has written repeated to the Ministry of Agriculture, the UBCM, and provided input to BCFIRB asking for a ban.
3. a study held last summer by independent Trinity Western researchers showed that cannons are ineffective and birds habituate to cannon noise very rapidly. Instead of accepting this, BCFIRB have recommended more studies?
4. Hundreds of new blueberry fields will be coming online in the next few years. This will greatly worsen the current problem. Despite BCFIRB's do nothing recommendation, something will have to be done soon.
5. The main issue is the sheer number of blasts that neighbours have to endure. A simple improvement would have been to increase the time interval between blasts from once every five minutes to possible every ten or fifteen minutes. The Trinity Western study also stated that less frequent use of cannons and greater intervals between blasts improves the questionable effectiveness of these devices.
6. The BCFIRB document recommends, "That propane cannons must be distributed within each property so that there is no more than one cannon per two hectare parcel." Excuse me, but that statement has been in the current guidelines for many years. Were BCFIRB people unaware of content of the current guidelines??
