midweek edition WEDNESDAY, JUNE 9, 2010 Vol. 101 No. 46 • Established 1908 • East
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Painter sees big picture Remembering a mayor
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City slaps ticket on backyard chicken owner
Citation levied despite pending chicken bylaw Sandra Thomas Staff writer
Two days before the city was expected to give final approval for keeping backyard chickens in Vancouver, a Charles Street resident was ticketed by a bylaw enforcement officer for doing just that. Ryan Zammit assumed six months ago that since the city was so close to approving backyard chickens, raising a small flock on the property he shares with two roommates would not be a problem. So the roommates were surprised Sunday afternoon when an animal control bylaw enforcement officer showed up and told the men their hens—Fish Sticks,
Chicken McNugget and Baija Bell—were in contravention of the city’s bylaw and that she was responding to a complaint from a resident. A month earlier a fourth hen, Darth Chicken, was killed by an off-leash dog. Zammit was particularly surprised because the city was expected to give its final approval of its new chicken bylaw two days later on June 8, after the Courier’s press deadline. “She started off giving us a warning but then when we started arguing with her she called the police,” said Zammit. “After the police showed up she changed the warning to a citation.” The description of the offence under animal control bylaw 9150, reads “Prohibi-
tion against keeping certain domestic animals.” Fine amounts differ from case to case, pending an investigation. Zammit said the bylaw officer told them their chickens are not only aggressive, but also dangerous because they could get out onto the street and cause an accident. Zammit said the hens have a large coop as well as a 12.2 metre by six metre secured run, but when he and his roommates are in the yard, they sometimes let the chickens wander. This practice was not a problem in the past, he said, but construction next door removed a section of the fence dividing the two properties. See ACCORDING on page 4
School board gets no more money Education minister holds ‘tense’ meeting with trustees Naoibh O’Connor Staff writer
Charles Street resident Ryan Zammit was ticketed last Sunday for wandering backyard chickens. photo Dan Toulgoet
The Vancouver School Board won’t get any short-term funding relief to offset its estimated $17 million budget shortfall, according to Education Minister Margaret MacDiarmid. “We’ve been very clear for many months. We have increased funding last year and this year in some of the most difficult times the province has had in decades. There have been increases in funding and there’s not fur-
ther funding for the 2010/11 year for any of the districts,” MacDiarmid told reporters after leaving a 45-minute early morning meeting with trustees at Harbour Centre Tuesday. The meeting, which NPA trustee Ken Denike described as “tense,” came just days after the minister released a damning report by special adviser Cheryl Wenezenki-Yolland, which questions the board’s management ability, its focus on advocacy work and its relationship with district management. See SCHOOL on page 4
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