Include 2,4D in Chemicals Banned for Landscaping use in Ontario, Canada

Support from the Physicians

A Canadian Association of Physicians spokesperson for the Environment reported through Canadian Press that the 85 pesticides are "found in roughly 250 products" used for so-called cosmetic purposes. The ban -- the latest step in the provincial Cosmetic Pesticides Ban Act, passed last June -- was to take effect on Earth Day, April 22. Retailers were immediately required to store and display pesticides behind the counter, and by 2011 they will have to notify customers of the new limitations on use.

Many Landscapers have already switched

Despite industry resistance to the ban, many landscapers are already switching to organic and least-toxic alternatives. Still, some health professionals and activists feel that the ban doesn't go far enough, as it does not stop owners of golf courses, farms or managed forests from spraying pesticides.

Public support is high

In 2007, the province of Alberta was found to have Canada’s highest number of pesticide poisonings with 1,021 cases, 45% of which involved children under the age of six. In a May 2008 poll, 87% of Albertans supported banning the “cosmetic use” of pesticides on lawns and gardens. Six months later, on November 12, Alberta outlawed the use of herbicide-fertilizer lawn care mixtures. Nova Scotia passed a law restricting “cosmetic” pesticide use in 2003, Quebec has passed a ban that helped cut pesticide use by 50%, and the British Columbia provincial government is considering a similar ban.

The Canadian Cancer Society praised Alberta’s action as an “appropriate first step to limit the risk to human health and the environment.”

The challenge is coming from manufacturers

Alberta, Ontario, Quebec and more than 100 Canadian cities have now enacted lawn and landscape chemical bans but the pesticide makers are fighting back. Some of the large chemical manufacturers have vowed to challenge these recent changes to pesticide regulations in Canada under provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), claiming that these bans are a breach of legal protections owed by Canada to US investors.

Not surprisingly, Canadians all over the country are outraged that US based transitional companies would attempt to circumvent this countries environmental laws. A spokesperson for the Canadian Environmental Law Association expressed alarm that chemical manufacturers may be able to use NAFTA to undermine democratically elected Governments.

Meanwhile the Government of Ontario is moving to include and ban Roundup herbicide in the laws banning landscape “cosmetic” chemicals.

The cooperation of local stores.

In the wake of provincial laws banning landscape chemicals, the Canadian division of Home Depot announced last year on Earth Day, April 22, 2008, that it would stop selling 60 pesticides in its 162 Canadian stores by the end of 2008 and increase its selection of eco-friendly alternatives.

Home Depot Canada was the first major home improvement retailer to stop selling such pesticides nationwide. On the same day, Canadian Tire, Canada’s largest lawn and garden retailer, announced: “We’ve listened to our customers and [have] started phasing out these products.”

Meanwhile back on the farm---

A Weakened Climate Bill in the US of A Rewards Herbicide-Intensive Farming (6/26/09) House leadership cut a deal allowing carbon-polluting industries to buy credits from farmers who, among other things, practice no-till farming, which is heavily reliant on herbicides and does not effectively sequester carbon.

Source: Beyond Pesticides

Makes the backyard ORGANIC gardener proud to be alive!!!

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