Dear Editor,
Food autonomy — we know how important this concept is. As a town, we know we need to encourage our community to produce more of its own food to help combat runaway food inflation, food insecurity and the unchecked predatory profits from big grocery chains (see the recent Fifth Estate episode on this issue, available on YouTube).
Raising our own food reminds our community of the values of our elders, the importance of even small amounts of self-sufficiency and keeping production and consumption local.
I appreciate there are costs involved with approving a new urban hen licence. I gladly paid the application fee in 2022 to defray this cost. I resented paying an additional licensing fee in 2023 but did it anyways to spare myself the trouble of trying to put my thoughts to paper.
My chickens are a heritage breed and they are getting old, they don’t produce $50 worth of eggs in any one year and my four chickens collectively would not sell for $50.
I have had to sit by and watch my grocery costs skyrocket with no government intervention, my energy costs have skyrocketed with no government intervention, gone are the days when you can even see your local dental hygienist for a clearing for $150 — the cost is now double.
There is very little I can do as an individual to combat this alarming rising cost of living, but growing some of my own food is one of them.
In the face of this radically inflationary market, where literally no steps have been taken to protect individuals, shouldn’t the goal of our Town be to encourage responsible food autonomy instead of penalizing our neighbours $50 every year for their willingness to be part of the solution?
I want the Town to please reconsider this urban hen licensing fee.
Renee Miller
Okotoks
