Island Valley Farms has permission and permits to burn the slash that filled parts of this region with smoke over the long weekend.
That seems to be little consolation to residents of the Morningstar and French Creek areas who are talking about respiratory problems and finding ash all over their cars and patio furniture.
“My house was full of smoke,” said French Creek resident Tom Reddick, one of many residents who called or e-mailed The NEWS over the weekend about the slash pile burning on land near Church Road.
“I had headaches, difficulty breathing — it was very thick. I’ve never experienced anything like it. They shouldn’t be issuing permits like that — there are other ways to get rid of that slash.”
Island Valley Farms owns the land that’s being cleared for cattle and crops, about 550 acres that’s within the Agricultural Land Reserve (ALR). That means the Regional District of Nanaimo (RDN) has little or no say about what happens on the land.
“We have all our permits,” Island Valley Farms chief operating officer Marc Fortin told The NEWS. “I can understand (the concerns of nearby residents) but unfortunately that (burning) is the only economical way to get rid of those piles. What can we do? We have a right to clear our land. Parksville was all bush at one time too.”
Fortin said the burning, for this year anyway, is complete.
Colleen Friesen lives in the Morningstar area. She said one of her neighbours just came home from open-heart surgery to a thick layer of smoke on the weekend. “It catches in your throat and makes you feel terrible,” said Friesen. “They (Island Valley Farms) do it on a long weekend when (residents) can’t get hold of anyone.”
“It’s absolutely ridiculous all these people should be suffering.”
French Creek’s representative on the RDN board, Joe Stanhope, said 30 or 40 people got hold of him over the long weekend by phone or e-mail.
“The property owners have followed the applicable regulations, but having said that, it’s just not right,” said Stanhope. “People went to the emergency department. It’s just not right.”
Stanhope said the alternative to burning is chipping, also known as grinding. Island Valley Farms’ Fortin said that would cost about $1 million, roughly the value of the land.
Parksville Coun. Marc Lefebvre introduced a motion (it passed unanimously) at Tuesday night’s RDN committee of the whole meeting directing staff to write the province about considering a ban on this kind of large-scale burning. “These type of large burns should be banned,” said Lefebvre. “The very least we can do is advise the ministries who are allowing this the effect it is having on our residents.”
— With files from Candace Wu
