Questions have surfaced as to why politicians are making decisions that impact farmers. Mike Gavinchuk, a North Okanagan Regional District director, doesn’t believe elected officials should be sitting on the Sterile Insect Release board. “We have put people on boards that don’t know what’s going on,” he said. According to Gavinchuk, orchardists should be directly involved in the program which is attempting to control the codling moth’s impact on apples and pears. “They’re not familiar with what the board are representing,” he said of politicians. “It’s embarrassing to listen to them make a decision about agriculture.” However, director Jack Gilroy disagrees. “I have been there (at SIR) for two years and I know about the apple industry and the codling moth,” said Gilroy, who is NORD’s representative to SIR. The SIR board consists of five representatives from the valley’s three regional districts and three orchardists. Gilroy believes there is a need for politicians to be there because taxpayers support the program. “We put a lot of money into it. We have to protect the investment from the taxpayer.” SIR’s establishment bylaw was recently amended to allow for the appointment of three grower representatives with voting privileges.
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