Matthew Redsell
P.O box 18
Port Burwell
Ontario N0J 1T0

October 20, 2008

Copies to Lynn Acre, Mark Taylor, Wayne Casier, Ed Ketchabaw. Cliff Evanistski, Rob Perry of the The Aylmer express, Sean Hurley, Bev Wagar, The Beacon, the St Thomas Journal and interested parties.

Dear Paul Groeneveld, By-law Enforcement Officer,

In your letter of October 3, 2008 stating ”Council had passed a resolution instructing staff to develop an animal control by-law prohibiting the raising and housing of livestock” it would have been much simpler had you considered approaching those who complained, finding the exact problem and finding a remedy but that would be too simple for a bureaucrat.

Your letter had my name on it, but I presume, had the address (49 Shakespeare) to the party that complained about the chickens. Very sloppy work. These neighbours cannot even see the chickens and for most of the daytime hours they are at work in places other than Port Burwell. They have never talked with me and have never visited me.

You did not do adequate research on the bylaw because if you had done adequate research you would have discovered that Bayham had already tried to eliminate Al Spicers two pet goats and that a judgement had been made that unless the animals/birds in question are used as an income then they are not considered livestock. So why bother me? Shall I invoice you for the wasted time I have spent doing your research?

Our local Council member for Port Burwell, Mark Taylor, who at the moment is against me having two pet chickens, asked me what my intention was and how far I was going to go with my sustainable living? Odd he has never visited me to find out. He needs to spend some time visiting me, to understand more fully what I have done and am going to do as well as understanding the problems facing Port Burwell. And most importantly we need jobs in Port Burwell that do not require long distance driving and the freedom to work in our own garages to create small businesses as I have proposed which is presently considered against the law. Perhaps he has not noticed that nearly all of the businesses in Port Burwell are for sale and that people are moving through lack of jobs or loss of jobs.

When you visited my premises and told me that chickens are not allowed, you could not define any real problem, you did not come with a copy of the law nor did you know what the law said nor did you have anything in writing saying that two chickens on my property where not allowed.

If your interpretation is truly the law then those hundreds of geese on the beaches and vacant lots in Port Burwell are illegal and you will have to tell the owners of those lots that the geese are not allowed in Bayham. Perhaps make a special unit of goose investigators! Maybe you could propose a law for these geese.. no honking in Port Burwell! They actually make a lot of noise not only on the ground but in the air.... AHA apply for that helicopter unit! Now how about birds chirping as well?

Another example of this kind of thoughtless bureaucracy is the denial of the Amish to share between themselves. And the reason? For health? ( despite the fact that there has never been a health problem... but if Maple leaf kills a few now and again, it is ok, after all they have the law on their side!~) Or is it that certain large companies only want to control and profit? Companies like Monsanto have already crippled the small farmer who wants to save their seeds from one year to the next. (search out the movie the world according to Monsanto- yes they have the law on their side too!) For years the Amish have shared a half cow with a neighbour, or a few eggs and this is no longer allowed as it is against the law. How can any human being not see the stupidity in this... but thats what is happening to the Amish Community here! I know because I make a point of talking with them as their lifestyle may show the way for our very future. Does your interpretation of the bylaw also mean that horses are not allowed in Port Burwell? Is this not similar to the intimidation of a poor Mennonite family with chickens who can barely speak English?: That must have made you proud for they got rid of their chickens. Any thinking person would have gone back to the Bayham council done some real research and said this was not morally correct to just shut them down, lets find a better solution because this law is discriminatory!

At the council meeting of October 02, 2008, I was delighted when our Mayor Lynn Acre asked you what the problem really was with two chickens on my property but unfortunately instead of defining any problem with chickens you said to council that it was aesthetically not pleasing which is a discriminatory statement and shows a complete lack of understanding of our current and future economic crisis! Are you not aware that chickens have been raised by families in Port Burwell in years past? Your statement to council showed a considerable bias in the interpretation of this bylaw and you should read up about discrimination and Municipal bylaws before going any further as I am ready to file a suit if this stupidity continues.

I even went as far as to suggest you talk to me in my first letter to you before proceeding but there was no reply.

I have been visited by Bill Knifton in Bayham Building inspector who was also investigating complaints about two semi trailers in my lot. He soon realized the complaints where harassments by my neighbour but took the time to look at all I had been doing. He asked questions and understood what I was doing and why I was trying to live a sustainable life. You did not look at anything nor did you show any interest. It is odd that it did not occur to you that perhaps those chickens where part of my sustainable living experiment and that you should have asked how they played a part in all of this. Showing just a little bit of interest would have really impressed me!

As a reasonable solution to this problem it would have be far better to enquire to the persons complaining as to what the problem was, have them adequately define it in writing then approach me to see if I can make changes. In fact if a complaint is registered just ask them to come and visit with me at any time ( I'm home 24 hours a day) but the very odd thing about the persons who complain is that none of them have even spoken to me nor visited me. Does that not strike you as odd? Perhaps the underlying motive is discrimination? However you chose not to think this through and instead you have created more bureaucratic paperwork and extra expense to the municipality by requesting an animal control bylaw. I believe that is how bureaucracy grows and gets a stranglehold on the very thing it was to protect. At this point a bureaucrat control bylaw would be more apt!

I hope you are more knowledgeable and understanding as Fire Chief!

Sincerely,

Matthew Redsell