By Staff
September 7th, 2022
BURLINGTON, ON
A citizen asked a city Councillor how many whistles the city had purchased.
The Councillor didn’t know but added that: “I couldn’t even begin to tell you. Our Animal Services Dept has been handing out Wildlife Whistles for YEARS. I know I’ve gone to pick up hundreds over the last four years giving them out at my Park pop Ups, Denningers, Ward Four Town Halls and delivering to people’s mailboxes. This latest round of distribution may seem like a new initiative but the city just hasn’t actively promoted like this before.”
The citizen: Would love to know the difference in price in buying them in bulk vs individual packages.
The people at Foxcroft 40 provided the following information.
From the right: Ward 2 Councillor Lisa Kearns with Ron Foxcroft and Ronnie Foxcroft testing the whistles on a cold winter day.
“We provide either bulk or packaged whistles at our cost or give them to the city as Complimentary, it is one of the ways we support Burlington. .
“The city gets the bulk product or packed whistles at the same price; in several cases we simply donated whistles and provided complimentary delivery, even on a weekend.
“The Fox 40 Eclipse was a discontinued model that we donated; the SPCA accepted them as is and not for resale.
“The whistles that are packaged have instructions on how to use and clean them. The company usually sells packaged products only which include instructions: Do not blow into a person’s ear; there are some product liability concerns. Packaging costs are minimal due to our automation and volume. The whistles are made in Canada from recycled materials and are fully recyclable.”
Ron Foxcroft once gave a whistle to the Queen. He thought at the time that he could do no less for his hometown. The Foxcroft organization gives back and supports their community – they’ve been doing that for decades.
They are useless. The coyote didn’t notice when I used it.
These whistles are a joke. They give a false sense of security. This is a band-aid solution for a very serious problem.
Where is the report that the city was to publish last Friday? I would like to know if anyone in animal control knows how many coyotes are in the area? Are there any records kept on a yearly basis? Does animal control check out the denning areas?
Public pressure demanded answers and yet again the city has failed to engage the public, other than provide whistles ( no mention of just how many they actually have). The mayor and members of council have remained absolutely silent, other than posting what the city puts out. I have to question the need of having a council if all they do is parrot what staff tells them to and by doing so fail to represent the residents?
As for this article – the question was never answered by Mr. Foxcroft….so let’s ask again – how many whistles were purchased and at what price? Indicating that some were donated, and some purchased does not answer the question. Many were purchased. Certainly the city can provide this information.
Perhaps residents will have to ask through the Freedom of Information Act to get the city to provide this information?
Ever get the feeling that the city is hoping that the public outrage will die down and then it is business as usual?
We really need to make these available to everyone and soon!