By Tim Bryant
A province-wide ban on the use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes is a distinct possibility after three major parties have put the issue in their election platforms.
The Liberals, the NDP, and the Green Party have all pledged to introduce legislation to ban the use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes if elected. However, the Progressive Conservatives have not yet formally taken a position on a provincial pesticide ban.
Cosmetic pesticides are used primarily for beautifying one’s lawn. The ban in the parties’ platforms would not affect commercial pesticides used primarily by golf courses and farmers.
Several Ottawa city councillors are happy that the topic of a ban has become an election issue.
Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes says she is “delighted” that McGuinty is talking about banning pesticides, adding she thinks a ban would be a “great idea.”
In the event the new provincial government does not pass a law banning cosmetic pesticides, Bay Coun. Alex Cullen says he is prepared to reintroduce a motion to city council to ban pesticides. Cullen’s proposed bylaw would exempt pesticides used for commercial purposes.
In November 2005, city council debated and ultimately defeated a motion to enact a bylaw banning pesticides in Ottawa. The motion was narrowly defeated 12 to nine.
Cullen says he had planned to reintroduce the bylaw later this fall, but decided to wait when it became an election issue. He will now reassess his strategy after the election.
Holmes says she has always supported the ban on pesticide usage and if it is reintroduced, she would support that again at council.
Another councillor who is in favour of banning pesticide use is Kitchissippi Coun. Christine Leadman. She says each municipality has the right to move forward with the bylaws it chooses. It is not unusual for Cullen to consider going forward with a ban she says, because that initiative speaks to the independence of cities.
Kanata North Coun. Marianne Wilkinson says she favours some sort of restriction of cosmetic pesticides, but she is concerned about the success of a ban. “I don’t want it coming forward unless I know it’s going to pass,” she says, adding that if it is coming from Cullen she feels it will not pass.
Other councillors are not so optimistic a pesticide ban will be forthcoming.
“We’ll cross the bridge when we get there,” says Eli El-Chantiry, councillor for West Carleton-March. He says that in order to properly speculate on a potential pesticide ban, it is necessary to wait until after the election.
Shad Qadri, councillor for Stittsville-Kanata West, says any ban should come from the federal government. “If the product is bad,” he asks, then why allow it to be sold? If the province enacts a pesticide ban, then it only solves part of the problem he says.
In order to properly deal with any pesticide problems, he wants the federal government to take action so that the benefits are felt nationwide. Qadri says municipal government is there to provide services, not to legislate its citizens on things like pesticides.
Orléans Coun. Bob Monette says he never agreed with the ban, and if it comes up in council he will oppose it. He says it is better to educate people on the potential hazards of pesticide use, and that with proper education, people will adjust how they use pesticides. “Common sense will prevail” he says, adding that he once used pesticides but stopped after he was educated about their hazards.
In Gord Hunter’s Knoxdale-Merivale ward, a large number of residents are opposed to the ban he says. Hunter says the vast majority of the houses in his ward do not use pesticides. He says he will not take a personal stance, preferring to canvas his constituents and vote according to their wishes.