Why a Bylaw
We are calling for a bylaw that will phase out the cosmetic use of pesticides in Calgary.Using pesticides (chemicals that kill weeds, insects, plants, rodents and fungi) on city yards, parks and green spaces is not necessary. Natural landscaping practices worked well for thousands of years before the invention of chemical poisons. Evidence is mounting and strongly shows that pesticides are harmful to human health and to the environment.
Why Act Now?
a) to protect human health, especially of children
b) to protect the health and well-being of pets and other wildlife
c) to protect and restore the natural environment: soil, water, beneficial insects
d) to save taxpayer dollars
Future generations may wonder why we didn’t do this sooner.
Calgarians Support a Bylaw
Four out of five Calgarians supported the phasing out of pesticides in a February 2006 poll done by an independent polling firm. Other Calgary initiatives such as Imagine Calgary and Sustainable Calgary have also supported the phasing out of pesticides. Read more. . .
Calgary, Let’s Keep Up With the Rest of Canada!
Over 135 municipalities across Canada have now passed bylaws, and the Province of Quebec has passed a Pesticide Code, phasing out or banning unnecessary pesticide use. It seems inevitable that pesticides used on lawns and gardens will be phased out everywhere - let’s act now. Read more . . .
Federal Regulations Don’t Work to Protect Us
You may ask: if cosmetic pesticides are non-essential and harmful, why haven’t government regulating agencies taken them off the market? Why do we need a bylaw?
The Federal Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development wrote a report in 2003 criticizing federal regulating processes for pesticides as inadequate. The Federal Minister of Health (Anne McLellan at the time) and the Supreme Court recommended Municipal bylaws as a complement to federal regulation of pesticides. Federal regulatory agencies have not adequately protected us from pesticides. Read more . . .
Click here to view an 11 minute video by the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment - Lawn Pesticides: Reducing Harm - summarizing why it’s important to pass a Municipal pesticide bylaw.
Press the Play arrow to start the video. You can also purchase the video from www.cape.ca.
Click here for actions you can take to support a pesticide bylaw.
Click here for how to use natural landscaping in your yard.
David Crowe"I want to live in a Calgary where we care for the health and well-being of all our residents and our natural environment."
Click for the whole story.
