3 - Sunday, April 9, 1989 - West Vancouver Villager TASK FORCE REPORT TO BE RELEASED SOON Strong arguments presented on both sides of West Van burning debate AS SPRING burning commences, West Vancouver is grap- pling with the question of whether or not to make outdoor burning regulations more flexible or ban the practice altogether. It’s a question that has inspired poetry, generated letters to the municipality and furrowed the brows of a special burning task force for two years. The nostalgic image of grandpa burning piles of garden leaves on a clear cold day has clashed with to- day’s public concerns over pollu- tion and the complaints of people who suffer from respiratory prob- lems that are aggravated by the smoke. . It also ties in with the waste disposal situation, one of the ma- jor problems now facing municipalities according to task force chairman and West Van- couver Ald. Alex Brokenshire. “*When the caveman filled up his midden with waste — he moved. We can’t do that anyimore,’’. says Brokenshire. The alderman finishing a report from the task force, which was made up of three pro-burners: Charlie Campbell, Dr. Laurence Boothroyd and Jim Humphries, along with three an- ti-burners: Katherine Steig, David Davies and Dr. Paul Dehnel. They have mixed feelings about what was accomplished. “«There was very little give on ei- ther side; but a lot of information was gathered,”’ reports Campbell. . Although West Vancouver is g0- ing ahead with its current practice ‘of allowing burning only on the first four consecutive Fridays and is currently. Saturdays in April and October, things could change by fall. The pro-burners argue that the burning days often coincide with poor weather conditions, so they are pushing for changes in the law that would permit burning during optimuia conditions, which, when combined with dry material, results in higher fire temperatures, quick combustion and less smoke. Campbell suggests the municipality have a_ telephone numb.r that people can call! to find out if weather conditions are good for burning. But the anti-burners think this will result in more smoke than be- fore and want West Vancouver io ban burning altogether, as it is in Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westminster and North Vancouver District, which has written to complain about West Vancouver’s ‘current burning practices. The task force was set up in response tc the letters that have come into municipal hall from ‘people compiaining about smoke from. the burning and the effect it has on their health. “Some people have to put tape around their windows or leave the district altogether,’’ reports Steig, whose husband suffers from the smoke. She cites Vancouver’s chief med- Reform Party leader will be at local meeting PRESTON MANNING, leader of the Reform Party of Canada, will be the guest speaker at the annual general meeting of the Capilano-Howe Sound constituency assoca- tion. . The meeting is on Thursday, April 27 at 7:30 p.m. in St. David’s United Church, West Vancouver. The riding association will be actively promoting the: party and its policies in the coming months. Regular monthly information meetings are being held in private homes and selective area distribu- tion is planned for the party’s of- ficial newspaper, The Reformer. Two other major Reform Party events are planned for this year — a Vancouver area membership assembly in June with involvement of about 15 local constituencies, and a general assembly of the par- ty in Edmonton in October. ‘*The Reform Party is continu- ing its fight in those critical areas of concern that were not addressed by the government in the November federal election; name- ly, Senate reform, deficit reduc- tion, opposition to the Meech Lake Accord and rethinking of official languages and immigration poli- cy,’?. a recent party press release States. In a recent issue of the party's official publication, The Reformer, Manning stated, “Because so many other issues remained untouched and unresolv- ed by the federal election, the need for the Reform Party to continue and to expand its operation is even greater than before.” Two key events in 1989 will have a bearing on how much support the Reform Party will garner. The second event is the election of a senator by Alberta sometime in 1989. A Triple E. Senate (Elected, Equal, Effective) is a major plank in the Reform Party platform. The complete text of an amendment to the Constitution dealing with Senate reform was developed by the Reform Party in 1988 and presented to the premiers of all provinces, While many Western politicians have talked about this concept for years, the Reform Party says it remains the only political organization’ to actually’ draft a legal text demonstrating how it might work, _ ical health officer Dr. John Blatherwick, who, in a 1982 report to the SFU board of health, recommended that outdoor burn- ing be eliminated because of the risks to people with respiratory- related conditions. But outdoor burning has not resulted in any increase of related admissions to Lions Gate Hospital, notes Dr. Boothroyd, a medical doctor, who looked at statistics for, both burning months and the months before and after. ALD. ALEX Brokenshire ... chairman of two-year special task force on burning in West Van- couver. “The people who are experienc- ing breathing difficulties cannot be overlooked, but regular measure- ments have shown that the overall air quality has not once reached unacceptable levels during burn- ing,’’ says Brokenshire. Burning leaves creutes 4,800 times less pollution than a single zB REATHE THE FRESH COUNTRY AIR AT LESLIEJANE * soft watercolour voiles and knits delicate hand- printed cottons cheerful garden florals ATR. ... OUr spring line of pretty cotton dresses and separates — has arrived LESLIE JANE Now open Sundays 1480 MARINE DRIVE - WEST VANCOUVER PHONE 922-8612 automobile, and 10 times less than a cigarette, according to Dr. Boothroyd. In a 1984 GVRD report, engineer Morris Mennell stated that ‘‘open backyard burning does result in the emission of air con- taminants” which affect local and regional air quality. Burning may be a relatively minor contributor to long-term regional air pollution, but ‘‘its ef- fects on any given day and on the immediate neighborhood are of concern,’’ Mennell said, adding that the GVRD Pollution Control Department supports the restric- tion of burning in densely popu- lated areas. Pro-burners like Campbell are also using environmental concerns in their arguments. Believing that it is up to the in- dividual] homeowner to look afier his own garden waste and keep it out of the garbage collection, Campbell sets an example by col- lecting cans and bottles for the recycling depot, composting much of his kitchen and garden waste and burning rolled newspapers in the fireplace. . ; Brokenshire agrees that residents tend to feel that once they get their bags of refuse to the lot line, they become someone else’s problem. A total ban on burning could mean that the tons of garden waste generated by West Vancouver's large and heavily—-wooded lots will just be trucked out and burned in the Burnaby incinerator. The anti-burners argue that the solution is to direct woody waste to the chipping plant in North Vancouver. At present, homeowners may deliver yard waste to the chipper themselves, and Steig argues that the municipality could replace the regular burning days with a pick- up service for delivery to the chip- per for only $13.78 per ton, which .is far cheaper than the $43.50 per tonit costs to remove regular waste. Brokenshire says the idea has ‘merit, but he’s concerned with the the possibility of cost and problems with the mechanical chipper. “And when we've got all the trails in B.C. covered with chips, what will we do with them then?°’ asks Campbell. . Because it still costs more to haul and handle the extra waste than having it dispatched by homeowners, Brokenshire says burning is still the best option for now, along with a municipal education program to encourage composting and recycling. He will likely include the more flexible burning times as one of the recommendations to be considered when the burning bylaw goes be- fore council, Although Steig discounts a 1988 survey of West Vancouverites on the burning issue because the recycling option was not included in the wording of the question asked, Brokenshire points to the results showing 49.5 per cent of West Vancouverites like the pres- ent. burning system, 14.9 per cent want more burning days, 9.6 per cent want fewer burning days (or 74 per cent in favor of burning), and 22.5 per cent want the practice eliminated.