The District of Squamish has outlawed signage printed on plastic bags, but doesn't strike them down during elections, says the district's manager of corporate services.
"We choose not to enforce on election signage," Robin Arthurs said.
The ban was put in place to prevent plastic bag signs from blowing into streams and sensitive habitat, she said. The district's sign bylaw was amended by the current council to include various regulations like putting size limits on election signs, making sure candidates don't post signs on utility poles, street or traffic lights and prohibiting bag lawn signs.
"We don't enforce on any election signage. The only thing that we enforce on is sight lines," Arthurs said, noting that the district has no say along the Highway 99 right-of-way, which is provincial jurisdiction.
Election signage rules such as those contained in Squamish's sign bylaw often butt heads with the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Arthurs said.
Coun. Patricia Heintzman, who proposed the regulation on bag election signs, said the bylaw was meant to draw attention to the environmental issues they present. Plastic bag signs can only be ordered a minimum of 500 at a time, she noted.
Heintzman said she has discovered the signage in local waterways months after elections.
"I found a Shelley Smith sign," Heintzman added, "She ran for council years ago."
In the 2008 municipal election, one of Coun. Byran Raiser's platform issues was to work with council to reduce the amount of sign pollution that occurs at election time, he said. It took two years to get the item to council's table, but once in front of council, Raiser said the bylaw morphed into something that didn't address his original concerns - the number of signs put up and areas they are allowed to be erected.
Council instead voted in favour of a symbolic ban on the bag signs, with full knowledge that he was the only local politician who had such signage, Raiser said.
Raiser ordered his election signs seven years ago. He's still re-using them, this time in his bid to be re-elected in next's month's election. Raiser noted the environment would be worse off he if scrapped his current plastic bag signs for new plastic-board signs.
"I don't want to spend any money on these election signs," he said. "I think there are better ways for money to be spent."
