Adrienne Beattie

In December of 2003, my two year old dog, Nova was diagnosed with lymphoma cancer and died within three weeks. During that time, I learned as much as I could about cancers affecting both humans and animals and learned that scientific studies have found links made between cancers (among other serious illnesses) and many of the chemicals we use on a daily basis, including pesticides, herbicides and insecticides. It would have been impossible to tell if there was any such link connecting Nova’s cancer to pesticide use in Calgary, but at that time it became painfully clear to me using pesticides for cosmetic purposes was a risk not worth taking.



 I also learned that many other municipalities in Canada have put the value of environmental and human health above that of flawless turf by banning pesticides and instead have made use of safe alternatives. It’s long overdue that Calgary did the same.