WHEREAS SARM has assumed responsibility for the Provincial Rat Eradication Program; and

WHEREAS members of the District 5 Pest Control Board are paying an average of $7,200 per year for poison and pest control officers over and above the field worker grant; and

WHEREAS the field worker grant has not been increased in the last ten years, but the cost of paying pest control officers and buying poison is increasing on a yearly basis, thus adding to the ever growing financial burden on ratepayers;

BE IT RESOLVED that SARM lobby the Provincial Government for an increase in funding for the pest control field worker grant.

Resposne from Honourable Bob Bjornerud, Minister of Agriculture:

At the SARM Annual Convention on March 9, 2011, I announced the Ministry of Agriculture is increasing funding to SARM for rat control programming to $750,000 in 2011-12, an increase of $150,000 over the 2010-11 budgeted amount of $600,000. I hope this increased funding will help RMs address this issue.