MLA Cynthia Dunsford, long time champion of pesticide ban
With a story from CBC
Hats off to Cynthia Dunsford and the new major domo at Environment Minister Richard Brown for announcing a ban on cosmetic pesticides. Well Richard didn’t announce it: he leaked it to CBC. Cynthia put a lot of energy into this and ended up with egg on her face when ex-Environment Minister George Webster axed the plan. Leave to our renegade Richard to push it through and rescue one of the dumbest governments in PEI history.
Thank you Richard and thank you Cynthia. Now would you kick some butt over there and get seniors wheelchair coverage?
CBCThe P.E.I. government intends to ban the sale of cosmetic pesticides starting in 2010. Environment Minister Richard Brown told CBC News Friday that regulations are being drawn up, and they will be straightforward. “A ban is a ban. Those products will not be allowed to be sold on P.E.I.,” said Brown.
“We’re not putting it in this year, because the owners of all the stores and all the big shopping areas have purchased their inventory, and we’re saying we’re not going to ban it for this year, but you’re on notice for next year.”
Brown said Islanders were very clear about what they wanted, in their presentations to a legislative committee looking into lawn chemicals in 2007. The Island government is working with Ontario and New Brunswick, as well, to come up with common regulations so people aren’t driving over the bridge to buy pesticides.
Katherine Dewar of the P.E.I. Environmental Health Co-operative, one of the groups that’s been pushing for a ban, welcomed the news.
“This is a no-brainer. You don’t need cosmetic pesticides. There’s no rationale to say that they’re needed, because you can have good lawns without cosmetic pesticides,” said Dewar.
“If you can take this kind of pollutant out of the air, the water and the soil, it’s a very easy thing for people to do. It’s just the sensible thing to do.”
Partisan non-partisan
It’s good to see NJN Network give credit when credit is due.
Peter F.
It’s about time.
K Jean Cottam, Ottawa
Congratulations to PEI for following in the footsteps of Quebec and Ontario. (Ontario ban will be enforced starting April 22.) Both politicians and residents of PEI should ignore industry spokesmen’s propaganda and their attempt to derail the ban at all costs, including spreading misinformation that the ban will be eventually extended to agriculture. None of the Canadian provincial bans will affect agriculture in any way, neither currently nor in the future. What the urban bans are intended to do is to prohibit the unnecessary use of toxic chemicals in the congested urban environment, so as to prevent inhalation exposures of young children, with the chemicals going directly to their brain, by-passing liver, the cleansing organ. In contrast, food pesticide residues are processed by the liver.