20 Jul 2026 Council meeting Environment

Invasive Plant Activities and Bylaw Update

Motion
That Council: 1. Receive the engagement and activity update, and, 2. Direct Staff to bring forward amendments to City of Nanaimo Business License Bylaw 2021 No. 7318 to include provisions restricting the sale and distribution of invasive plants.
Minutes, page 8
Sources
Agenda itemCity agenda, whole meeting
Staff reportPage 1
Purpose
To provide Council with an update on work undertaken in response to Council’s direction on invasive plant management, including bylaw development, engagement with local retailers, and strategy development, and to seek direction to amend Business License Bylaw No. 7318 to regulate businesses engaged in the sale and distribution of invasive plants.
Staff report, page 1
Staff recommendation
That Council: 1. Receive the engagement and activity update, and, 2. Direct Staff to bring forward amendments to City of Nanaimo Business License Bylaw No. 7318 to include provisions restricting the sale and distribution of invasive plants.
Staff report, page 1
DocumentsStaff report about Environment & Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation

Hilary Eastmure Yes

Prino. Thank you. May speak to it. Um, so I want to really thank staff for the work on this report and on the outreach campaigns. I loved reading The Work that has been done so far and all that you learned. And I really appreciate the work that that went into this. Um, I know this stemmed from a motion that I originally brought forward on options to prohibit the sale and spread of invasive species. And I really loved what came back with the phased approach to drafting the bylaw and then also partnering with the local retailers and updating the invasive plant management strategy and resource materials to really get that knowledge out into the community. And I think the huge 103 percent jump in requests for work parties in just the first part of 2026 is a credit to staff's work on that and the increasing public awareness around this. And I know a lot of work has gone into this. So I greatly appreciate the time and energy. In the same way that I appreciate the amount of time and energy that volunteers in our community and PR staff have put into removing invasive plants. And for me, all of this really came about because I was volunteering at some invasive plant work parties throughout the city with organisations like broom busters and NALT and the seed agrahood and the gary ecosystems recovery team. And also particularly Hunter Jarrett in basispecies guy on Instagram who toured me around some of the really special areas where like the glory of the Gary Oak ecosystems, uh, can really be seen what's left of them because they're under threat from climate change and from invasive plants and from development and really hearing that we need to go upstream and stop some of these invasive plants from getting into our environment in the first place. And this is one of the proactive things with banning of the sale through the business licences and then the public awareness campaigns and the city supported work parties. So, um, it's a, it's a credit to all the work of the volunteers. And they've put, you know, hundreds and thousands of hours into protecting our community and this is another step that we can take to hopefully make the job easier in the future and continue to be proactive on this because our, our environment deserves our special attention on this.

Ian Thorpe No

Thank you very much Councillor. You very much your worship through you if I may. I first of all do support the work of staff and the time you spent developing this bylaw. And having said that, I'm sorry, but I'm not going to support it. I did not support the, uh, original proposal. Simply, well, maybe not simply, but because I feel this is not a big problem. Invasive species, yes. But it's almost exclusively on public lands, which we do not have control over. And this bylaw is aimed at private homeowners. And what they can and cannot purchase and what local, uh, retail outlets can and cannot sell. So while I would be all in favor of a campaign based on education, uh, I'm not in favor of a bylaw that comes down heavy handed in terms of business licensing restrictions. I think this restricts the rights of private citizens and what they put in their own home gardens. And I refer to your, uh, your report. Where it says in one spot, and I quote no respondents, this is to do a retailer's, no respondents reported carrying listed invasive species. Most outlined internal policies to avoid invasive plants and indicated alignment with like - minded suppliers. Most also expressed interest in partnering with the City on Future Public Education Initiatives. That's what I would support. I just don't see the need of a bylaw as I said, uh, and you say that only a handful of municipalities have similar bylas. I can understand why. I just think this is a solution in search of a problem.

Paul Manly Yes

Uh, thank you. Your worship. Yeah. I do support this. I have invasive Ivy in my yard that I fight every year that nobody planted there. It's, it's something that the birds dropped off after eating some, some berries. And, uh, doing their business. We have Holly all over this area. And I don't know if you've noticed, if you throw some Holly on a fire, it burns like gasoline. It's extremely dangerous. Uh, it's an invasive, uh, it's not a safe thing to have in our forests. Uh, the same can be said of broom. It's highly flammable. Uh, broom that's growing along the side of highways and long hydro lines is basically a wick for wildfires. And so we have seen, um, some of these species sold before. And I think it's, it's good to have it clear in a business bylaw that it's not an acceptable practice. And whether, uh, as a practice that's happening now or not, uh, we should ensure that it doesn't become a practice in the future.

Sheryl Armstrong Yes

Thank you. Thank you. Councillor Armstrong. Thank you. I too will be supporting this bylaw. Um, I do recognise that yes, it's going to go after some property owners, but as somebody who bought a house that's full of invasive plants, it's very hard to get rid of. Takes a long time. And I don't think we need them. Uh, I do note that the, uh, retailers are already working with, with them. So I don't see put in a bylaw. We'll be a problem because they're already working and they agree with it. So I think it's really important that we do send the message that, uh, especially as you start, even though most people aren't buying scotch broom, but somebody did eventually, um, it's extremely flammable.

Ben Geselbracht Yes

Quick through you. You know, it's heartbreaking to see invasives, you know, taking over places that we love to go through. And I think it's a multi - pronged approach to deal with it. And the great education. And really appreciate the volunteers out there, making a dent in it. And, uh, you know, having to buy a law here, bang the sale is just one prong of a multi - headed approach. So I think it's important to do and have it to support. Thank you.

Leonard Krog Yes

I'm going to support it. Um, but I must say I have some sympathy for Councillor Thorpe's position on this when this matter first came up. My general sense was that it was an unnecessary potentially regulation. Because there wasn't a problem necessarily. And, frankly, the staff report to some extent confirms that. As Councillor Manley's pointed out, uh, the invasive species that of the greatest concern are all in public property. They're hydro right of ways. The highways, et cetera, et cetera, et cetera. However, having said that, uh, when the evidence in contained in the report indicates most businesses are already doing the right thing regardless, it's not going to hurt to have it in place. It's rather like passing a law before something dreadful happens. At least you've got something to rely on. If something dreadful does happen. So I'm prepared to support it. Uh, seeing no further debate, all those in favor. Councillor Armstrong Eastmere Councillor Gustavo Brock.