April 1, 2005
Spring into the debate
By Alex Cullen
Bay Ward
Spring is coming, and naturally
one thinks of green grass growing, and gardens and
flowers. It is also the time that lawncare companies
come calling, looking for business, and the debate
about pesticides begins again. For most people this
is not an issue. Not only do institutions like
schools, hospitals, the City of Ottawa, and even
Parliament Hill not use pesticides (to name only a
few), but fewer homeowners do.
According to one recent public opinion poll, 85% of
Ottawa homeowners do not use pesticides, and of the
remaining 15% more than half are willing to switch to
an organic product if they had more information about
it. The good news is that the City of Ottawa, as part
of its Pesticide Reduction Strategy, has a listing of
organic lawncare companies that use safer
alternatives to chemical pesticide applications to in
order to control weeds and bugs (go to www.ottawa.ca).
One wonders about the nature of this debate, though.
With more and more evidence accumulating on the
harmful health effects of these pesticides to humans
(especially children), and less and less people using
these toxic chemicals,it should be obvious that the
era of chemical pesticide applications is coming to a
close. Reputable health organizations such as the
Ontario College of Family Physicians, the Ontario
Public Health Association, and the Registered Nurses
Association of Ontario are stepping up their
campaigns to reduce the risk of exposure to these
chemicals. Already 70 municipalities have taken the
step to implement bylaws to phase-out cosmetic
pesticide use, including cities as Toronto, Montreal,
Vancouver, and Halifax. Can Ottawa be far behind?
Earlier this year the Canadian Association of
Physicians for the Environment commissioned a
professional public opinion poll of Ottawa residents
to measure their receptiveness to a bylaw to
phase-out the cosmetic or non-essential use of
chemical pesticides. It found that over three out of
four residents in Ottawa (77%) supported City Council
adopting a bylaw that would phase-out the cosmetic
use of pesticides. That would indicate that the time
for such a bylaw is coming.
Of course the chemical industry is resisting such
initiatives at every corner, relying on Health
Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency 's
statement that licensed pesticides, if used
correctly, pose "acceptable risks"to
people. However, it is the doctors, not just the
environmentalists, who are leading the charge to
phase-out these toxins. It is the medical profession
- scientists in their own right - who see the
accumulating evidence of cancers, leukemia,
non-Hodgkin's disease, endocrine disorders and the
like linked to pesticides and who are calling for
measures to reduce the risk of exposures to these
chemicals, particularly the cosmetic use of these
chemicals, when much safer alternatives to maintain
healthy lawns and gardens already exist. Among the
strongest supporters for a phase-out of cosmetic
pesticides are the pediatricians at the Children's
Hospital of Eastern Ontario, here in our own town.
In 2002 the City of Ottawa not only stopped using
pesticides for cosmetic purposes on its own lands,
but also adopted a Pesticide Reduction Strategy that
set targets to reduce pesticide use in the urban
area,accompanied by a public education program on
safer alternatives. While this strategy has increased
public awareness of the health effects of pesticides
on people, recent studies confirm that pesticides
have entered our water system and food chain, and as
a result are affecting more and more people.
In my view it is time to heed the doctors' concerns
and take the necessary steps to phase-out the use of
these chemicals, particularly when safer alternatives
exist.
When the matter rises at City Council, encourage your
City Councillor to do the right thing,and approve
phasing-out these toxic chemicals.
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