OK, now I understand we'll all have to fork over approximately $20 each year for the next five years to pay for bear-proof locks on our garbage cans. What I don't understand is why some of us should have to pay for garbage can locks we will never use.
Some of us keep our garbage cans in closed garages. We deposit the garbage in an "unlocked" garbage can then bring it to the curb in the morning on garbage collection day where it sits for several hours "unlocked" until Carney's picks it up.
Most residents on our street bring their garbage cans to the curb before they leave for work, some as early as 6 a.m., and leave it "unlocked" on the street for several hours until it's picked up. Then it stays there for the rest of the day until they come home from work.
Last year one summer mid-morning a bear entered our street from the forest service road and walked down the sidewalk sniffing all the garbage cans.
I thought when the new bylaw was introduced that a bear-proof lock was a smart idea and it meant that the garbage can would be placed at the curb "locked" and when it was picked up by Carney's, they would use an unlocking device at the same time it was emptied.
I am in favour of reducing bear-human interactions in our community but frankly don't see that this policy has been thoroughly thought out.
Patricia Vesely
Squamish
