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.

Province-wide pesticide ban coming

Dalton McGuinty will be introducing legislation tomorrow as the first step towards a province-wide pesticide ban.

Reader Ruth tipped me off on this, and expresses concern about people with weed allergies.

I want to know what the penalties will be and how much of a bureaucracy will need to be created to police it.

And will all pesticides be banned from store shelves?

A lawn can get wiped out by cinchbug or grubs in a matter of weeks. If we lose our lawns, then the cities will heat up even more, and we will also lose an important source of carbon dioxide absorption.

Reader Fred had a great suggestion a while ago:

Leave pesticides to the professionals (lawn care companies) and take them off the store shelves. This would reduce improper pesticide use greatly. The people who know pesticides (University of Guelph) say they are safe if used properly. Let's trust them (we have to believe someone) and not the fanatics who use junk science in their argument against good products.

Sounds good to me, Fred.

* * * *

Update: Can someone please explain to me why golf courses will be exempt?


I'm not doing an Earth Day post per say, but please check out ChuckerCanuk for an excellent piece on how our highly-esteemed Elections Canada is not being very responsible about its carbon footprint. Tsk-tsk.

Chucker, you rock!

National Post - Why Ontario's pesticide ban bugs me (and may bug you too).

The Pesticide Ban - Coming soon to Ontario

Dalton promised a province-wide pesticide ban.

Get ready for it, and check out how Halifax is doing.

It's on the store shelves, but people are 'not supposed to use it'. However, they still do.

Why? It seems that Halifax doesn't have the resources to follow up.

Get ready for a whole new regime of unionized bureaucracy, Ontario! Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll all go on strike.

Waterloo Councillor - The people WILL comply

Even though Waterloo Region has just finished the first year of a partial pesticide ban and even though Dalton McGuinty is pushing for a province-wide pesticide ban in his re-election platform, City of Waterloo Councillor Angela Vieth is demanding a bylaw for a year-round ban that would start as early as January of 2008.

"This community is ready for this and people will comply," Vieth said.

"It's time. I want it done. It's got to be done by 2008 and, I'm sorry, we've been waiting too long for this."

Never mind what lawn care companies and homeowners want.


Oh, but she has a formidable ally:

The Canadian Cancer Society is calling on the city to impose a total ban on cosmetic pesticide use, said Diane Hawrylenko, the local society's public issues chair.

While scientists haven't proven a conclusive link between pesticides and cancer rates, the society is concerned about the long-term health effects of pesticide exposure, especially when there is no health benefit to using pesticides, she said.

I wonder if the city's Grey Silo Golf Course would still be exempt under Vieth's agenda? Health benefits... Well, it is healthy to play golf, I suppose. But what about those pesticides? Aren't they poisonous, according to Vieth? Your hand touches the golf ball that came in contact with all those horrible pesticides, right? And you inhale the air. That can't be good.



Anyway, it seems that Councillor Vieth's mind is made up, so lawn care companies best pack up and move elsewhere:

"The debate is over," she said. "There are no more excuses. We are way behind on this issue. Just do it, and do it right please.

But Dalton already promised a pesticide ban if re-elected, right? And according to the polls, McGuinty is still ahead, right?

So why all this duplication of effort?

Is it possible that Councillor Vieth doesn't believe Dalton's promises either?

* * * *

Uh-oh! On second thought, maybe you'd better ramp up the rhetoric, Councellor Vieth!!!

Nanny McGuinty pushes province-wide pesticide ban

This is a topic that really hits close to home because last year our own Region put in a compromise ban on pesticides during the months of July and August only. Coupled with the lack of rain, this has had a devastating effect on people's lawns. Only lawn companies are allowed to apply pesticides during these months and then only in situations of extreme infestation and lots of signage. Many folks have simply given up rather than incur the extra cost.

I also read a few weeks ago that next year the Region may be sending out lawn police to check soil samples in lush lawns to make sure nobody is using pesticides during banned months.


Now Premier McGuinty wants to enact a province-wide ban on pesticides. In one way, it might be good to have a uniform law, rather than this patchwork of city and regional bylaws on the issue.

However, it does mean another ban on a product that Health Canada is still allowing for sale on the store shelves; just like tobacco.

So where do we draw the line between safety and a homeowners right to protect his investment?

There are some environmentalist dingbats in Waterloo who are still not satisfied with the partial ban. They prefer to see dirt and weeds in place of lawns, I guess.



A total ban would have a devastating effect on lawn care companies and their employees. As Richard Maas of Peerless Turfcare notes:

A total ban will destroy lawns and force residents to try to use pesticides on their own because they won't be able to hire a lawn-care company, he said.

"They're not going to stop people from using pesticides," he said. "They'll just kill our industry."

The regional ban has already cut into Maass's business this summer because large commercial clients who usually purchase extra lawn-care services on top of pesticide spraying are cancelling their contracts.

Maass said he's lost about 200 customers this year and as much as $40,000 in business.

"Companies are laying off people in the middle of summer when they should be busy or doing more hiring," he said. "But nobody is crying the blues about the loss of jobs in our industry."

Yet pesticides continue to be used on farms. According to a 2005 report by The College of Family Physicians of Ontario "many fruits, including peaches, apples, pears and grapes, were found to contain residues of pesticides". The Globe article states however, that "the ban the Liberal Party is contemplating would not apply to farmers."

Great. We can eat the stuff but we can't have it on our lawns.



This subject gets my blood boiling to the extent that I'm having trouble looking at it objectively.

Let's see, what's left to ban in Ontario now?

How about McGuinty?


One thing for sure - I was ambivalent about this election until now.

Dalton, this is the last straw - which is what my lawn is going to be if you get re-elected.