HALIFAX, Nova Scotia – The Halifax Regional Municipality in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia is going ahead with a pesticide ban that has been debated for more than two years in the Halifax legislature, according to the Canadian Press. Councilors for the municipality approved a bylaw July 11, which, by April 2003, will make it illegal to use pesticides on lawns and gardens in Nova Scotia’s largest city.
The ban is being phased in. By April of 2001, the ban will only apply to spraying within 50 meters (or 165 feet) of schools, hospitals and the homes of people with medically proven sensitivities. By 2003, a complete ban on lawn and garden chemical spraying in the municipality will go into effect.
Halifax’s Municipal Government Act of April 1999 gave permission to the council to regulate lawn and garden spraying. According to the CP, several councilors opposed the ban, saying there is conflicting evidence on the effects of pesticides. However, Councilor Jerry Blumenthal said it is better to err on the side of caution, according to the CP.
The passing of legislation in Halifax could reinforce the Canada House of Commons Environment Committee’s bid to create a country-wide restriction, and possibly even ban, on lawn chemicals and pesticides intended for cosmetic purposes. Those cosmetic purposes include beautifying lawns and gardens through fertilization and insect control. That proposal is feared to seriously affect Canada’s $7 billion-a-year (U.S.) landscaping industry if it passes.
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