Canadian Pesticide Control Legislation Coming Soon

All that's needed now, says Liberal MP Charles Caccia, is for the federal government to take strong action through legislation now being drafted and due to be tabled in the Canadian Parliament by mid-October.

He's hoping Health Minister Allan Rock will take his cue from the environment committee's report, released last May, which called for a sweeping review of how pesticides are regulated. Among the suggested reforms was a ban, to be phased-in over five years, on the use of pesticides for "cosmetic" lawn-care purposes.

"There is a surge of public concern (about pesticide use) that certainly didn't exist in previous decades," Caccia said in an interview. He compared it to the way society has become sensitized to the health risks associated with smoking and lead in paints.

"The issue of quality of life is becoming more and more prevailing and it is now catching up also with pesticides in the search for alternative approaches. The public is certainly expecting governments to reflect on this shift in values."

In its report, the environment committee noted that more than 7,000 pesticides are registered for use in Canada.

"Pesticides are known to play, or are suspected of playing, a role in a myriad of diseases and developmental abnormalities, including cancer (brain, breast, stomach, prostate and testicles), childhood leukemia, reduced fertility, damage to the thyroid and pituitary glands, lowered immunity, developmental abnormalities and behavioral problems," reported the committee.

Article reprinted from the Edmonton Journal (www.edmontonjournal.com).