February 2005
Pesticide By-Law Long
Overdue
by Mike Christie
On May 16, 2000 the front page
headline of the Globe and Mail read
"Ban Urged on Lawn Chemicals" in response
to a report released the same day by the House of
Commons Environment Committee. The Committee set a
target date of five years (May 16, 2005) for a
nationwide ban on lawn chemicals. Other than a number
of private members bills, federal leadership on the
issue has been less than stellar over the last five
years.
Instead, legislation
restricting pesticide use has come from Québec and
forward-thinking municipalities such as Hudson,
Halifax, Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver. When all
the current regulations and pesticide by-laws across
Canada come into full effect, the total number of
Canadians protected from lawn pesticides will grow to
over 11 million - approximately 35 per cent of
Canadians. Ironically, as the nation's capital, the
City of Ottawa is nowhere to be found among this
list.
The city of Ottawa is asking
citizens to "Come celebrate with us!" as
the year 2005 marks the 150th anniversary of its
founding. This year 2005 is also the year when Ottawa
City Council agreed to reconsider a pesticide by-law
if the pesticide reduction targets for private
property set in 2002 were not achieved.
Ottawa has been debating the
pesticide issue for over 15 years. A city-wide by-law
was first proposed in 1989 when the City's
Environmental Advisory Committee discussed a motion
to declare Ottawa a pesticide-free zone. In 1991,
Councillors Elizabeth Arnold, Rick Chiarelli, Alex
Cullen, Diane Holmes, Alex Munter and Jim Watson
committed to support a phase-out on toxic pesticides
and herbicides on municipal and private lands by
1995.
A pesticide-free capital would
be an enormously powerful symbol. But those with
interests in the "spray-and-pay" business
have aggressively campaigned behind the scenes to
derail local by-law efforts.
One pesticide industry lobbyist
acknowledged that "we've lost the pesticide
battle in Québec." Pro-pesticide activists have
also lost in Toronto, where one councillor claimed
the debate over the pesticide by-law was the greatest
municipal government relations campaign in Toronto's
history. According to another observer, it was
"one of the most bitter fights we've seen in a
while." During the Toronto by-law campaign, the
industry ran pro-pesticide radio and newspaper
advertisements, set up front organizations, and paid
"experts" to make presentations to city
committees claiming pesticides were harmless.
In an article in NOW
Magazine, Toronto Councillor Jane Pitfield
commented that "misinformation" put out by
the chemical lobby group called the Toronto
Environmental Coalition only made her more determined
to overcome the pro-pesticide forces. "They are
pompous, they are arrogant and they are completely
inflexible," stated Councillor Pitfield. The Globe
and Mail described the pesticide industry's
tactics like an 800-pound gorilla roaring into City
Hall.
As things heat up in Ottawa,
the "spray-and-pay" industry will likely
employ similar intimidation tactics. On November 21,
2002, the last time the by-law issue was before the
Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee,
local industry lobbyists mobilized bus loads of
out-of-town pesticide applicators to make their
scripted Improved Pesticide Marketing pitch before
city councillors. One observer stated to the Ottawa
Sun that "I feel like I'm at a pest-control
trade show."
To learn more and get involved
in Ottawa's 2005 pesticide debate, visit the city of
Ottawa's website at www.ottawa.ca and go to the Health, Recreation and
Social Services Committee's page for staff reports on
the city's Pesticide Reduction Strategy.
Community Web.
