April 10, 1992 88 pages

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NEWS photo Cindy Goodman

MARIA VERDICCHIO admires early tulip and daffodil blooms in a garden at
Woodcroft in North Vancouver. The mild temperatures brought the flowers out
early this spring. The weekend weather calls for mostly cloudy skies with a

40% chance of precipitation.

Agriculture Canada moves up aerial
assault of gypsy moths to April 15

OPPONENTS OF plans to spray insecticide from the air
to eradicate Asian gypsy moths on the North Shore and
elsewhere in the Lower Mainland reacted angrily to a pro-
vincial emergency declaration made Wednesday that allows

Agriculture Canada to begin

April 15.

A pesticide-use permit
authorized by the environment
ministry pesticide management
branch on March 26 stipulated an
April 26 launch of the first aerial
spray application.

A condition of

the permit

spraying the area as early as

By Michael Becker
News Reporter

allowed for an appeal process for
those opposed to the issuance of

the permit. Some groups and in-
dividuals have either already filed
or are filing an appeal.

The program is
challenged in federai
April 16 by West Vancouver-
based Citizens /.gainse Aerial
Spraying. On April 14 the group
will ask the court to impose a
three-day stay on the spraying
program.

Said West Vancouver-based
Worldwide Home Environmen-
talists’ Network (WHEN) director
Suc Cameron, ‘‘Yesterday I cried.

also being
court on

Today I’m absolutely furious. All
our rights are gone. We have no
process now. This is comparable
to the War Measures Act on a
provincial level.””

But said North Vancouver-
Lonsdale New Democrat MLA
David Schreck, *‘! wonder how
upset she would be if we had a
devastating infestation that wiped
out the watershed?

“My friends in the Interior tell
us urbanites that they find it
Strange that we are willing to
throw our bodies in front of
chainsaws to save trees, but we
are willing to allow a devastating
insect infestation to kill them all,””

But added Cameron, ‘We're
getting calls from doctors who are
saying this is an absolutely dan-
gerous project. | hope our premier

comes to his senses before some-
body either gets very sick or dies
from this spray.””

She plans to protest the pro-
gram at a meeting on the issue at
Vancouver City Hall on Monday
night.

On Tuesday night she will leave
the North Shore.

“We are absolutely leaving the
city, taking our children out of
the city, and I'll be sending the
bill to Agriculture Canada.’

Weather conditions permitting,
three DC-6 planes fixed with
spray booms will depart from
Abbotsford airport at 5:20 a.m.
on April 15.

Three Bell 212 helicopters will
also be used to spray 347,166

See Neurologist page 14