Just how far from train tracks hunting should be banned is a question District of Port Edward staff will be looking into after a revised bylaw ruffled the feathers of councillor and avid hunter Dan Franzen.
In revising the map, staff presented a bylaw that would prohibit the discharge of firearms 500 metres from the shore along the coast from Morse Basin to the district boundaries at the Skeena River due to the train track.
“This distance is ridiculous. It’s further than some rifles and shotguns fire. What you’re doing is making it so people can’t hunt ducks anywhere on the foreshore for the whole length of the rail line. I think it’s just ludicrous,” he said.
“There definitely should not be any firearms near residential areas, not at all, but from Cassiar Cannery east is all open area as far as I am concerned.”
Noting that the maps were being revised because the railways weren’t included in the original 2011 bylaw, chief administrative officer Bob Payette said he would look into the matter to see what, if anything, could be done as the regulations relating to CN are federal jurisdiction.
“We will meet their minimum standards … we will review the distances, but we may not be able to make any changes,” he said.
The bylaw and maps will be brought back to a future meeting as council tabled the matter until clarification was recieved.
