Spring is here and the issue of cosmetic pesticides is
heating up across the country-almost everywhere, it seems,
except in Sudbury.
More than  70 Canadian municipalities now have bylaws
restricting cosmetic pesticide use because of their serious
health and environmental risks.
Peterborough just enacted one, North Bay and Toronto 
both have one. Quebec will ban several cosmetic pesticides
province-wide as of April. But here in Sudbury we are having
difficulty getting the issue onto city council radar.
The Sudbury and District Health Unit has a position paper ready to be presented to council.
Pesticide Free Sudbury, the local citizen's action group,
has a petition asking for a bylaw signed by 1,500 concerned
citizens, but twice now, the issue has been removed from city
council's agenda.
The whole thing is really very sad. Here is an issue deemed
so important by the College of Family Physicians of Ontario
that it wrote a lengthy position paper about the serious
detrimental effects of pesticides on children.
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
advocates banning these chemicals. Sudbury's chapter of the
Canadian Cancer Society, in keeping with the national agenda,
has written to the city in support of a bylaw. Even the Supreme
Court of Canada has twice upheld such bylaws and has encouraged
municipalities to use the precautionary principle ("When an
activity poses a threat to human health or the environment,
precautionary measures should be taken, even when the cause and
effect relationship are not fully established scientifically.")
as a guide in such matters.
There is plenty of reputable research that condemns the continued use of cosmetic pesticides.
And not only are these chemicals dangerous, they are
unnecessary because there are plenty of safe, healthy,
and  more effective ways to care for lawns and gardens.
It is obvious the medical community and other knowledgeable
groups take this issue seriously. Many Canadians from across
the country are taking it seriously.
I believe that it is time for Sudbury to acknowledge the
dangers of pesticides and to give the issue its rightful place
on the city council agenda.
But then again, maybe we value our precious chemicals above
the health of our children. Now that really is very sad.
Suzanne Harvey
Pesticide Free Sudbury