Montreal Launches Information Campaign on Pesticide-Free Program

Today, the City of Montreal is publishing some 325,000 copies of a new brochure, Montréal Goes Pesticide-Free, to inform Montréalers about the main provisions of the By-law concerning pesticide use, adopted on April 26, that will take effect almost everywhere in the city this year. "The fact that a vast majority of Montréal boroughs have decided to apply the by-law starting this year is a clear sign that their residents' health takes priority over all other considerations," noted Alan DeSousa, Mayor of Saint-Laurent and Executive Committee member responsible for sustainable development.

The brochure not only explains By-law 04-041, but also provides some tips to encourage Montréalers to opt for organic gardening and lawn care. They can pick up a free brochure entitled “Clean and Green, Creating a Healthy Home and Garden,” at most municipal service points (borough offices, AccGes-Montréal offices, etc.), with all advice on choosing plants, what kind of organic materials to use, how to water a garden most effectively and so on.  There are even some recipes for homemade, completely safe insecticides.

Thanks to the Montreal Botanical Garden, home gardeners looking for alternatives to pesticides can also consult hundreds of pages of valuable information and technical advice in its Green Pages and information leaflets accessible on the Garden Website, at
http://www2.ville.montreal.qc.ca/jardin/en/biblio/carnet.htm .

The city, for its part, has decided to set an example in the way it manages its own green spaces, by establishing a training program for its maintenance staff and showing them how to apply integrated pest management principles (large-scale organic gardening). This year it is investing $1.6 million CAN, mainly to ensure that boroughs have efficient, knowledgeable teams of inspectors and, in some cases, eco-advisors.

This new by-law prohibiting the use of pesticides in all but exceptional cases and under strict conditions brings Montréal into line with the guidelines adopted by the Quebec government in its Pesticides Management Code.

Monday, June 14, 2004