Why have rules we don’t enforce?
Governments at all levels love to (and often do) create laws concerning hundreds of different activities people embark on every day.
Controls pertaining to open burning, wildlife/human conflict, improper garbage storage that attracts wildlife etc. are all the responsibility of the Conservation Office. Conservation officers are often not available to police many infractions as they are short handed and often over committed to other issues.
On a local level, open burning is not allowed or only allowed in certain geographical areas during a certain date range depending on which local government has jurisdiction, then add in the requirements to follow the provincial venting index.
Also on a local level, activities like walking a dog, on leash or off, dogs are allowed in some parks but not others, and if on leash only a certain type of leash.
Then there is fireworks, banned by almost every local government but for sale from uncountable number of outlets on reserve lands or the black market. If fireworks are banned and this is an enforceable issue why were there more fireworks this year around Halloween than ever before.
Why create a multitude of rules when the bulk of them are unenforceable because the rules are created faster than the numbers people assigned to enforce them and if push comes to shove the infractions aren’t worth the cost to prosecute?
Mike Wilkinson
Duncan
