Canada's "Right to Food" Trial Decision on Wednesday Sept 5

[juliefarms]

Oh no!!

 

[SunnyAlberta]

I miss my girls -- they are staying at a friend's farm nearby -- but overturning municipal bylaws to allow all Canadians to grow their own food is more important than worrying about my individual backyard activities. I need to educate myself and learn the best ways to help the cause. Any ideas?

 

[punk-a-doodle]

No ideas, but a very important fight to fight. Control over food is being limited (on the large scale) more and more into the hands of the few. I'm still in shock at how much, not just in the US, one is led to believe that the store aisles teem with choice...until you find out the different brands are all owned by the same corporation.

Best of luck with your personal struggle as well over your hens.

PS. And in that context, I don't see it as just applying to poorer economic groups, though that alone is such an important aspect.

 

[SunnyAlberta]

Anyone who wants to help with fundraising for the appeal may join in on the online auction here:
http://cluck4.wix.com/cluck-trial-fund#!menu/c21ei

or make a donation here:
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/cMQt2

"In all instances of social justice, there are many ways to support something you believe in and members of CLUCK have tried them all & attempted everything imaginable. With the Right to Food Trial we have a defined strategy that involves the Canadian judicial & legal process of a Constitutional & Charter Challenge. This is not a trial that has one winner, but rather 35,000,000 winners," Paul Hughes


"Paul is going to the next level in the appeal process, he will be climbing the court system ladder on behalf of all Canadian urban chicken owners and future owners. When he wins in the legal area, the implications will reach from coast to coast. I would encourage all Canadians to get behind Paul's appeal as he will be doing all the ground work for us all," Lacy Phoenix

 

[kukupecpec]

DH and I are thinking about moving to Calgary. I have grandparents there that could really use the extra help of young hands and we would really love to! We currently live in Tucson AZ, and I am wondering about my chickens? I haven't really done research yet, but thought I would ask if anyone knows if I can bring my backyard chickens across the border, and if they are even legal in Calgary as a backyard flock?

 

[SunnyAlberta]

You may not keep chickens legally in Calgary at this time. What part of the city are they in? You may find a commuter town that is chicken friendly. I think that's the case in Airdrie.

 

[kukupecpec]

I have seramas that i keep indoors as house pets, do you think they would be allowed as long as they stayed inside? Its no different than any other pet bird.

We Would be living with them in their house, I'm not sure what part of the city they live in, I'm not super familiar with Calgary.

 

[SunnyAlberta]

You aren't likely to have neighbors complain about indoor birds.

 

[PaulHughes]

I'm trying to update quite a number of sites, almost 50, that are involved in some capacity with the Canadian Right to Food Trial and appeal.

I hope to post something soon and I am just awaiting the response from a legal organization that is considering taking on the file.

Quickly, this is the latest:

Appeal filed.

Transcripts requested @ $3400CDN... (yikes)

If you happen to have read the decision, the very 1st item I submitted as evidence was my T5007 Income Statement. It is an official document from the Province of Alberta. It states I make a total of $12,499.00 annually. That is what my 10 year old son and I live on in a year. The judge stated that I was not able to prove financial burden. I am well below the LICO (Low Income Cut Off) and after Rent and Utilities, my son and I have about $280/month to live on. I am not sure what more she wanted me to prove, but based on the fact her and her husband, who is Alberta Chief Justice neil Wittmann, receive over $700,000/year as judges, my financial capacity is beyond her capacity and experience to comprehend. I also stated that eggs were a significant part of our protein diet, as we avoid most meats. Our hens were providing us with 6 eggs daily, for aprox 320 days a year. Organic eggs in Calgary are $7/dozen. So everyday our girls saved us $3.50. So, just our hens saved us over $1000 year, which represents over 25% of my annual food budget. Again, this is completely outside of her experience and context. As well, it was 1 of aprox 60 items introduced during the trial and not the only item we are appealing. She really missed a lot, but the Court of Queen's Bench appeal will correct the oversight on her part.

Hope this provides some clarity.

We also have an online auction going on over at CLUCK Canada to help raise funds for the trial. http://www.facebook.com/groups/CLUCKCANADA & http://cluck4.wix.com/cluck-trial-fund#!menu/c21ei

I can be reached at c403.383.3420

Paul Hughes
ps I never thought my backyard looked like a dump. There was a garden, patio, a little pond, we painted the coop, a berry bush, a composter, it was essentially an urban farm and it was open for all to see and not behind a fence (part of the 2(b) argument), but it was beside some manicured lawns and that juxtaposition doesn't always work for the urbanites. Not clinical enough perhaps, but very practical and functional.

 

[Mary AtSeaLevel]

Paul took this over from me when I got my chicken tickets in Calgary back in 2009. I kept chickens the whole time even though they tried to tell me it was against a bylaw. Those were fun times Thanks for the help, Paul. I see it was finally changed