I know this has been a busy news week, with such utterly important subjects as Michael Jackson’s Memorial Extravaganza, Shannon Tweed Day (yes? no? ye.. no? no!), and Did He or Didn’t He (also titled: Damned if you do, Damned if you don’t), and a nearly missed photo op (would you want to be in the picture with people who think they can influence the weather? I wouldn’t either) but I’d like to point your attention to another pressing issue: the City of Ottawa Weed Team.

Upon getting a complaint from a neighbour, the City of Ottawa Weed Team was sent out to a suburban back-yard to take note of the unruly collection of grasses and weeds protruding through their fence and peeking into their neighbours’ yards, and to subsequently deliver a bylaw notice that the home owners should mow their weed-yard down, or else… [the City of Ottawa would do it for them, and send them the bill]

Now, I am not one to go for the eco-nut back-yard let-it-grow-wild meadow-experiment, however, I do believe in property rights, and as such a homeowner has the right to grow any plant he or she wants to, even if it does invite an infestation of aphids and bees.

The irony is, ever since the City of Ottawa banned pesticides (and herbicides) on their own property (long before Dalton banned it for everybody else), and they cut the budget for city property grass mowing in half, coincidentally around the same time, the city is one big collection of tall grasses, weeds and other unsightly growths and are in effect in constant violation of their own bylaw. Take a drive down Merivale Road, Baseline Road, St. Josef, Carling Ave. The weeds are three foot high! 

I think the City of Ottawa has better things to do than to lecture ordinary citizens about keeping their lawn neatly trimmed and bickering on whether we should have a Shannon Tweed day or not: the latest property tax increase is currently set at 28%, to be wiggled down to, say, 26.3 by the time the budget gets approved.

Get to work, you bums!