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Bishop seeks NDP nod in Delta North
Plant proves to be formidable foe
BY
JESSICA KERR
jkerr@delta-optimist.com
PHOTO BY
GORD GOBLE
Rotary Club of Ladner president Don Burkett (left) and past president Linda Ottho continue to pull Spartina anglica, an invasive plant that is choking the ecosystems of Boundary Bay and Roberts Bank. See story on Page 5.
Relocation not as costly
Moving rabbits from civic precinct to Ladner Harbour Park costs less than $25,000 BY
SANDOR GYARMATI
sgyarmati@delta-optimist.com
FILE PHOTO
Abandoned rabbits have a new home at Ladner Harbour Park.
The cost of relocating feral rabbits from the municipal precinct to Ladner Harbour Park was less than anticipated, Delta council was told Monday. Staff provided councillors with an update on Delta’s rabbit management program, initiated earlier this year to sterilize and remove hundreds of problem rabbits. It was a program budgeted at $60,000 but, thanks to volunteers, worked out to less than $25,000. A staff report notes during the
last three to four years, the population of rabbits in the civic precinct increased significantly to an estimated 400 to 500. As a result of abandonment and uncontrolled breeding, the bunnies were causing significant property damage to buildings and landscaping. Delta had spent approximately $350,000 to repair damage to buildings and grounds in the civic precinct, while in 2011 Delta Hospice spent approximately $70,000 to repair damage. A veterinarian estimated that without intervention, the population would have continued to
grow to more than 1,000 rabbits within a year. Coun. Robert Campbell said if something wasn’t done, the total damage would have kept climbing to perhaps $1 million or more. “This is not just Delta’s problem, it’s happening elsewhere,” Campbell said. “You see rabbits being dumped now at the Richmond Auto Mall and they have to deal with that.” The municipality began looking for “humane” and “cost effective” solutions last fall, asking See RABBITS page 3
604.943.6383
Delta Coun. Sylvia Bishop announced this week she is throwing her hat in the ring for the nomination to run as the NDP candidate in Delta North. “I have always thought about wanting to serve as an MLA,” the first-term councillor said Wednesday morning. Delta North NDP MLA Guy Gentner announced his retirement last week. Gentner, also a former Delta councillor, has served two terms as MLA for the riding. Bishop said with the proSylvia Bishop vincial election a little over six months away she heard that Gentner was considering his next move, so once he made the announcement last week she started making, and getting, phone calls about possibly running for the nomination. The Tsawwassen resident said she thought about it through the weekend before making a final decision earlier this week. Bishop is a long-time member of the provincial NDP and unsuccessfully ran for the party in the 1980s. “Good social policy has always been important to me,” she said. Bishop said her experiences during her year on council have added to her skills that she would bring to the job of MLA. “There are some problems that can only be solved on a provincial level,” she said. If she were elected MLA, it would trigger a civic by-election.
Gentner not running
Page 4
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