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◆ NEWS Closing in on deal, P. 2 ◆ SPORTS Skylar takes rookie award, P. 23 ◆ NEWS Golfers support lung association, P. 5 ◆ CLASSIFIEDS, P. 14-21
FRIDAY, April 6, 2012
Volume 6 Issue 39
TMC 20,700
Pinned down …
CENTRE MAL Y IT www.citycentremall.ca L KITIMAT • 250-632-2433 email: info@citycentremall.ca REGULAR MALL HOURS: Mon.- Thur. & Sat. 9:30 am - 6 pm Fri. 9:30 am - 9 pm Sun. Noon - 5 pm
Feel like watching a movie?
RIGHT NOW?
MARGARET SPEIRS / THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
TERRACE - April is Daffodil Month and the Canadian Cancer Society kicked off the occasion March 28 in Terrace council chambers. From the left, back row, Paul Axelson, Betty Nordstrom, Brenda Haakstad, Mayor Dave Pernarowski and Lucy Brown. Middle row from left is Joan Quast and Lori Neid. Front row from left is Yolly Wilcox, Mary Fleming, Joyce Gibson and Betty Cobbs.
Ain’t no one here but us chickens By Alan S. Hale THE NORTHERN CONNECTOR
With CityWest’s Video On Demand (VOD), you have a library of movies to choose from. There is no waiting, no scheduling. If you have Digital Cable TV, you automatically have VOD at your fingertips. It’s easy, just turn to channel 1, and use the arrow buttons on your remote to navigate your choice.
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PRINCE RUPERT - Prince Rupert City Council is considering a bylaw change that would allow some residents to keep chickens on their property for the purpose of harvesting fresh eggs. The initiative is the brainchild of Samantha Lewis, a secondyear science student at NWCC. Lewis – who grew up on a farm and has plenty of experience raising chickens – says that allowing Rupertites to keep up to four chickens per household makes for a more environmentally-friendly and sustainable Prince Rupert, which she argues lines up well with the city’s Quality of Life Official Community Plan which explicitly lists creating “a
truly sustainable community” as one of its goals. “I’m here to propose a relatively simple way for Prince Rupert to become a greener and more sustainable city: by allowing backyard hens,” Lewis told council at their meeting on Monday. “Some of the most obvious benefits of keeping backyard chickens are that it promotes food security, sustainable farming practices and it also helps reduce the carbon footprint of the city. They’re effective composters, they’re also educational and provide free organic fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides. They also fight factory farm abuse; for every chicken you own, that’s one less chicken that needs to spend its life in dark factory farms.”
The urban farming movement is nothing new. Many communities have been trying out the idea in BC, Canada and the United States. The City of Vancouver now allows backyard chickens and Smithers’ city council is considering the issue as well. Lewis came to the council meeting well-prepared. Her presentation not only contained a proposed bylaw complete with a licensing scheme and zoning restrictions and a petition of support with over 300 signatures, she also tried to address many of the common concerns raised about urban chickens when the idea has been brought up in other communities. Under her system, Prince Rupert’s prohibition against the raising of livestock inside City limits
would be amended to exclude laying hens. Roosters, which are the cause of the most noise by chickens, would continue to be prohibited. A single-family or duplex residence would be allowed to keep up to four backyard hens once a license is obtained from the City. To maintain that license, chicken owners must adhere to a number of conditions: The hens must be completely fenced into the yard or side yard where they are being kept and their coop must be at least three metres away from anybody’s windows. They must be kept in a proper chicken coop complete with a floor, perches, a roof and nesting boxes. The chickens must be locked in their coop overnight to protect them from predators.
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