So much to say, so little time

There are a plethora of topics out there today, so I think I'll launch a series of short posts to address them and readers can weigh in as they like.

The first one is this morning's editorial in the Record which shocked me to the core. Why? Because they said everything I was thinking about Felix's proposed Ontario pesticide ban - and then some.

The editorial (Pesticide ban is unwarranted) explains that this isn't about the environment. It's about politics and pandering to very vocal special-interest groups:

...It will, come next spring, be illegal for residents of Kitchener's Rockway neighbourhood to use pesticides in their yards. But why will Rockway Golf Course in the same neighbourhood be allowed to spray pesticides on their greens and fairways? And why will golf courses beside residential neighbourhoods from one end of the region to the other -- in Elmira, Conestogo, Waterloo's Grey Silo Golf Course, Westmount, Kitchener's Doon, Cambridge's Galt Country Club -- all be exempt from the chemical ban McGuinty argues is so essential? Are these chemicals dangerous or not?

The answer is obvious. This ban is about politics, not science. And it is driven by political desire and public fear, not reason...

( . . . )

The fact is, to accept the need for McGuinty's ban, you need to conclude that Health Canada has been hopelessly wrong and inept -- not just on one occasion but consistently and for decades. Some would argue it has. However, it's worth knowing that Health Canada has, in the past and based on newer research, removed some pesticides from the list available to the general population.

Every time Canadians buy a prescription drug, they place their faith in Health Canada, which regulates our pharmaceuticals. When they accept laws to limit exposure to cigarette smoke, Canadians do so because Health Canada found tobacco to be carcinogenic. And just last week, the federal government began a process that will probably lead to a ban on the chemical bisphenol A, which is used in some plastic bottles and as food liners. Why? Because Health Canada sounded the alarm. So explain the selective trust.


For those who dismiss the wisdom and science of Health Canada, and there will be some, it is worth listening to Keith Solomon, director of the Centre for Toxicology at the University of Guelph. "There is no evidence to suggest a health risk from these chemicals,'' Solomon said bluntly of the substances McGuinty is banning. "This will not make any difference to the health of Ontarians.'' As for the ban itself, he is scathing: "It doesn't make sense because it is nonsensical...''

It's almost enough to make me regret cancelling my subscription.

But the opposition parties will cave to the bellowing of the special interest groups because they are just as pathetic as this government.

Civil liberties continue to be eroded by weak-kneed politicians. It's the story of our times.