City Council still not ready to kill rat program

For the second time in as many months, Sault Ste. Marie City Council refused last night to discontinue a controversial rodent-abatement program.

City staff have asked twice that the rat-control program for private properties be eliminated, arguing that it's become prohibitively expensive and there's no proof that it's working.

Last night, staff unsuccessfully recommended that in place of the abatement program, the city should talk to Algoma Public Health and the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre about a system for tracking rat 'hot spots' using geographical information system (GIS) technology.

Under the staff recommendation, problem areas would then be addressed with help from Algoma Public Health.

In 2004, similar methodology was used by the Sault Ste. Marie Innovation Centre to deal with increased numbers of nuisance bear sightings.

Meanwhile, funding for the city's existing $20,000-a-year rat abatement program ran out two weeks ago.

Rats breed year-round, producing as many as 12 litters a year, each litter numbering four to 22 new rats.

Algoma Public Heath recently advised that it can no longer afford to handle phone calls for the city program.

Pest-control contractors have advised they might not bid on the city contract, even if four or five times as much money was involved.

"Sault Ste. Marie and Windsor are the only two communities in Ontario still providing a municipally funded rodent abatement program for residential properties," says a staff report to City Council.

"Algoma Public Health is the only public health organization that carries out the administration of said program," the report said.

Ward 6 Councillor Ross Romano agreed that the city needs to get out of the rat-catching business.

"What's the difference between having a rat problem and having a mouse problem?" Romano asked.

Homeowners with mice buy mouse traps.

Homeowners with rats should just go to down to Canadian Tire and buy a rat trap, he said.

"In all of Ontario, there's only one other municipality that provides this service to their constituents, and they've already decided that they will not provide any more. This is an non-essential service," Romano said.

Windsor recently started a pilot program in which homeowners are charged a $100 user fee to participate in the rodent extermination program.

Initial reports from that city indicate that the number of city exterminations has dropped significantly since the user fees began, perhaps as much as 50 percent.

But other councillors expressed concern with any program that requires property owners to pay for removal of rats when the problem might actually be on another property in the neighbourhood.

"I really am uncomfortable putting upon our residents the responsibility to incur costs of removing the rodents," said Ward 2's Susan Myers.

"Vermin are a health issue. Should not Algoma Public Health be involved?" asked Ward 1 Councillor Steve Butland.

As Butland sees it, the issue isn't on whose property a rat is found.

The proper question, he says, is "to whom does the rat belong?"

"I guess the message is, if rats are a problem, you're on your own?"

Council voted to send the issue to city staff one more time, this time for a report on the cost of maintaining existing levels of rat-abatement service.

Ward 2 Councillor Sandra Hollingsworth said homeowners need time to adapt if the rat control program is killed.

"I'm a great component of having a transition period so we can properly educate our citizens and the key players," Hollingsworth misspoke.

In other news, Mayor Provenzano read a proclamation declaring July 23 to July 30 as Pridefest in Sault Ste. Marie.

The mayor spoke boldly about the need to eliminate "hobophobia" in our community.

Speaking of creative use of language, the mayor has been using the word "fulsome" at least once a meeting to describe things that are full.

Like a "fulsome discussion."

Other councillors have adopted this usage.

Even Chief Administrative Officer Al Horsman was using it last night.

One wonders whether any of them have ever looked up that word in a dictionary.