Cities urge province to cull urban deer

Dangerous deer are running amok in towns and cities across B.C. and the province needs to act.

That was one of the messages from voting delegates at the Union of B.C. Municipalities convention in Whistler.

Grand Forks Coun. Chris Moslin blamed inaction from the province for the growing trouble with urban wildlife.

"We've watched our urban deer herds dramatically increase," he said. "Now municipalities are trying to deal with the unpalatable challenge of trying to reduce the deer herd population through either a sharpshooter cull or some sort of limited-entry managed hunt."

Moslin said the province is forcing cities to be the "bad guy" and demand controversial action.

The motion, which passed by a wide margin, noted B.C. needs more conservation officers but the environment ministry is poorly equipped to respond to many issues because of budget cuts.

"That has left the ministry of environment almost toothless – whether it's air quality, water quality or managing urban wildlife," Moslin said.

Osoyoos delegates tried to add a call for a cull of non-migratory Canada Geese they said have become a nuisance on local lakes.

"It becomes a real heatlh and safety issue with the beaches being fouled," Coun. Michael Ryan said.

The city has arranged some hunting of the geese, he said, but federal authorities with the Canadian Wildlife Service are resisting a broader cull.

Delegates rejected the Osoyoos amendment as being a distinct issue.

A separate motion from Richmond council to ban the sale of rabbits in pet stores was defeated.

Medical marijuana

It's too hard for patients to get medical marijuana, so regulation of the issue should be transferred from the federal to the provincial government.

The Victoria motion passed, with advocates suggesting the province could then distribute medical marijuana via pharmacies and community dispensaries, potentially reducing the number of approved patients growing their own pot.

Delegates also debated a call from Merritt for tighter enforcement of licensed medical marijuana growers to ensure they meet local regulations and don't pose similar safety risks to illegal grow-ops.

That resolution was referred back for further study after Kootenay delegates argued it could violate the privacy rights of medical pot users.

Drug policy

A call for the provision of needle exchanges and base levels of other harm-reduction services for addicts in every B.C. community narrowly passed by a 124-118 vote.

Opponents said it would lead to greater provision of free drugs to addicts in the name of harm reduction.

Advocates said such services should be consistent, rather than the current patchwork that stems from local opposition in some regions.

Police bills queried

Major police investigations can be costly and cities are increasingly being hit up by the province to share the burden.

UBCM passed a resolution seeking to reverse the trend and ensure cities don't pay extra if a regional team of officers like the Integrated Homicide Investigation Team is called in to deal with a murder.

"Imagine if Port Coquitlam got a bill for the Robert Pickton investigation," Coun. Al Siebring of North Cowichan, the sponsor of the motion.

He said civic administrators joke that if a murder happens near the municipal border, the temptation is to drag the body across the line into the regional district, where the city isn't responsible for costs.

PRIME fees up

B.C. cities are also concerned about a doubling in the fees they're charged to cover the costs of police records handling.

UBCM wants an accounting of increased spending on the PRIME (Police Records Information Management Environment) system and seats on the agency's board of directors.

The province has indicated it will name three local government representatives.

Resolutions on the issue were advanced by Metro Vancouver, Richmond, North Cowichan and Midway.

Keep on rolling

One of the closest votes at UBCM came when delegates debated whether to press for mandatory helmet use by skateboarders, inline skaters and scooter riders.

But the wheels quickly started to come off the idea when some civic reps questioned whether it might also apply to seniors or the handicapped in electric scooters or children's tricycles.

"This is going to cost people quite a bit of money," Langford Coun. Lillian Szpak said, adding it could deter young people from being outside and active.

Powell River Coun. Debbie Dee defended the measure as one that would prevent brain injuries.

A Tofino councillor suggested the overwhelmingly non-skateboarding mayors and councillors at UBCM were unreasonably trying to restrict the lifestyle of local youth.

The motion was defeated 198-190.

Regulate MMA

Civic reps voted to ask for tighter restrictions on boxing, wrestling and similar pro matches like mixed-martial arts.

UBCM will ask the province to ban such events unless they're regulated by an athletic commission.

North Cowichan Coun. Al Siebring said the move shouldn't stamp out the popular fight events, but is merely an attempt to "set standards on this vastly growing sport."

Transfer plates?

UBCM delegates endorsed a Quesnel resolution urging the province to allow a transferrable licence plate an owner could swap between two vehicles.

Quesnel Coun. Ron Paull said many Interior workers have to drive a truck or SUV for work purposes.

But if they also owned a small efficient car they could swap one plate "between the gas guzzler and the gas miser as needed" and save the cost of insuring a second vehicle.

"We could to a huge favour for both the economy and the environment," he said.