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TORONTO -- Toronto city council has voted 27-16 to adopt a controversial anti-pesticide bylaw, according to the Canadian National Post.
It is designed to stop people from using chemical herbicides and insecticides for outdoor aesthetic purposes.
The bylaw has angered workers in the lawn care business. About 300 people from the industry were at city hall for yesterday's debate and shouted angrily at politicians as they left.
But Mayor David Miller stuck to his guns, insisting pesticides are a health hazard and need to be controlled. He said the bylaw gives homeowners four years to adjust to healthier alternatives and gives lawn care companies two years to adjust. While previous plans called for city staff to start issuing $255 fines in 2005, council yesterday voted to extend the grace period until September 2007.
Professional lawn-care companies, however, must meet the original deadline or face fines.
Yesterday's decision represents a minor change in the pesticide by-law that took effect on April 1. The new rules prohibit the use of pesticides except to combat infestations or such public health risks as West Nile virus.
Over two days of debate, some councillors argued spraying should be allowed if weeds cover 5 percent of a lawn. But in the end, council voted 27-16 to maintain the strict new rules.
Miller said yesterday he supported council's decision. He argued it is more important to educate the public than to impose fines.
But members of the lawn-care industry who that watched the debate loudly stormed out of the council chamber during the vote. They argue the ban will cost 2,000 jobs in the city. "It will definitely reduce our ability to maintain a business. The results we can provide our customers with organic alternatives are diminished and we'll have to charge more," said Lawn Care Operator Paul Gaspar.
Environmental activists said the implementation period was too long, but applauded council's decision. "We wish the timeline would have been a little shorter. We wish it would have happened in 2004 and 2005, but we're delighted there's going to be a complete faze out of herbicides," said Gideon Forman of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment.