Scoudouc – As of January 1, 2015, Scoudouc will officially become Canada’s first hibachi-free municipality. The town’s mayor, Denis LaForge, stated that today’s announcement provides residents with ample time to use up any remaining charcoal they have before the ban takes effect at the beginning of the new year.
When asked whether today’s announcement had anything to do with the propane distribution and barbecue sales businesses being opened up by his brother, Pierre LaForge, the mayor replied simply by saying in a hushed voice, “Hey… worry pas ta brain.”
The full effects of the hibachi ban aren’t expected to be felt until sometime in the summer of next year, when the tourism industry is at its peak. The Manatee spoke with Dave Steen, a disappointed Lower Coverdale resident who vacations in Scoudouc for two weeks every summer. Steen stated that, for some time now, he has been very keen on the idea of using his hibachi in Scoudouc.
“Well, to tell you the truth, I went a little overboard a couple years ago and got this huge hibachi grill that’s bigger than my dinner table. Everyone sits at it together and cooks their own food; it’s awesome. But, as soon as the grill was delivered I thought to myself, ‘There’s no way that friggin’ thing is fitting on the back of my truck.’ So, for the past two years I’ve been stressing out, trying to figure out a way to get it down there,” he said.
“Now that Scoudouc is becoming a hibachi-free municipality, I suppose it doesn’t really matter because I can’t use it anyway.”