By Pamela Eadie
The City of Ottawa’s $400,000 pesticide education blitz is officially over, but the battle against pesticides is just beginning.
“Pesticide Free By 2003” was the catch phrase at the Coalition for a Healthy Ottawa campaign that kicked off last Sunday with a rally at Ottawa City Hall. The coalition aims to raise public support to encourage city council to pass a bylaw strictly curtailing the use of pesticides in Ottawa.
“There is just no question that the cessation of pesticides for cosmetic purposes has to happen yesterday,” said Dr. Alex MacKenzie at the rally. He is the coalition co-chair and director of the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute. “Let’s just stop this insanity and move on to the other environmental issues that are, I fear, poisoning the children that come to CHEO.”
Sara Jinha, who attended the rally with a “No Pesticides” sign attached to the back of her wheelchair, said she would like a worldwide ban on pesticide use.
“Chemical companies are producing all this stuff that used to be for going out there and doing horrible things during war, and now they’re using it on people’s lawns. It doesn’t make sense at all,” said Jinha.
Ottawa resident Sylvie Leblanc-Wong attended the rally with her husband and two children. “I am really anti-pesticide, especially with my kids. I want my kids’ health to come first, not lawns,” she said.
About 500 people attended the rally, where keynote speaker anthropologist Elizabeth Guillette spoke about her research on the health effects of pesticides on children in Northern Mexico.
John Sankey, co-chair of The Health Dangers of Urban Use of Pesticides, an advisory group to the city’s health department, said health is the main issue behind the push for a bylaw. “We’re basically saying, if you don’t see a health advantage from the use of a pesticide, you shouldn’t be allowed to use it because there are health dangers, particularly for the people with asthma and allergies.”
Sankey stressed that a bylaw would not involve a total ban on pesticides. “There are pesticides that benefit human health, and the health department wants to keep those and so do we.”
But Thom Bourne, owner of Ottawa lawn care company Nutri-Lawn, said there are practical problems with a ban on pesticide products. He said while interest in organic and other alternatives to pesticides has increased with the education campaign, people generally don’t like them as much as traditional pesticides.
“We’ve never been able to break that 10-per-cent barrier,” Bourne said, about sales of pesticide alternatives.
“Getting these people to buy it and stay with it is a real challenge because the homeowners don’t want to put all the extra effort into the lawn that’s required.”
Bourne said pesticides don’t pose a health risk when they are used properly.
“When applied according to the label, these products are safe. If you abuse the products, they’re not. It’s just like anything else. If you’re using gasoline in your car, it’s not going to cause you any problems. But if you’re going to drink the stuff, you’ve got a problem.”
City council will hold public consultations starting Oct. 9 to help council decide what happens next: a bylaw, more public education, or nothing.
In an interview, Bay Ward Coun. Alex Cullen said the consultations will end in a report that will go to the Health, Recreation and Social Services Committee. They will debate and vote on the bylaw before sending it to full council.
“I think we have an obligation to put these bylaws in place,” said Cullen. “The real answer is public education on safer alternatives. You can have your green and weed-free lawn by using safer alternatives, so why take the risk?”