I have some reactions to the article by Doug Neuman, (Gazette, Feb. 8) on the St. Albert Council debate about whether to legalize honey bee hives within the city. Clearly the council was unsure what to do and then surprisingly they allocated $5,000 for training. Although a St. Albert resident, in spring 2015, I was one of several speakers who spoke in favour of legalizing beehives in Edmonton after they had been banned in 1972. After, I was asked by Edmonton's bylaw dept. to give a training seminar on beekeeping problems to the bylaw officers.
The best set of bylaws I have seen for urban beekeeping is from Vancouver where beekeeping has been legal for ten years. Unlike Edmonton, Vancouver had beekeepers help draw up the necessary criteria for safe and sensible beekeeping. I have been working as a volunteer swarm catcher with the bylaw departments of St. Albert, Edmonton and other close-by cities for the last 20 years and caught over 200 swarms. Two of the swarms I caught were in and near St. Albert's Botanical Garden; the one I caught there last year was on the grass (the queen was injured or dead) rather than in a tree.
My point is that many cities have legalized beekeeping, safe guidelines, e.g. from Vancouver, are freely available on the Internet. The Edmonton and District Beekeepers Association teaches a course for new beekeepers on one Saturday each month for about $120 and provides free mentoring sessions for course graduates during spring and summer.
If the City needs assistance setting up bylaw procedures, I would be glad to help.
Malcolm Connell, past president of the EDBA, St. Albert
