FREDERICTON - Today, mayoral candidate Matthew Hayes launched
his official platform release in front of the Sunset U-Pick on Community Gardens and Local Food to an audience of
residents and media figures. He wants to foster a healthy community that
participates in urban agriculture.
“Local agriculture has a multitude of
benefits,” Hayes says. “Local food growers provide business opportunities that
can make Fredericton
a more self-sustainable city.”
The city needs to facilitate this by
protecting the lands that can be used for urban agriculture.
“The Sunset U-Pick was zoned for
residential development, but local residents prevented it. They shouldn’t have
to defend against this kind of thing.”
Hayes’ plan addresses issues such as the
red tape involved in establishing a community garden.
“Local food could be a source of revenue,
but at the moment it’s a cost to the city. We have lands that are being
underused, but that require maintenance,” says Hayes. “As mayor, I would work
with community groups to eliminate the barriers facing local agriculture.”
The audience was enthusiastic about Hayes’
plan, including local resident Shelley Pronk. “Why are we paying people to mow
these lands when residents are begging for community farmland? There is land
within the city that we could use for our own benefit.”
