Herald Op Ed: Calgary should implement its own pesticide directive

This post from CivicCamp Calgary...

Thank you to Gideon Forman, ED of Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, for supporting the phase out of pesticides used for non-essential or cosmetic purposes!

Robin McLeod
Coalition for a Healthy Calgary


Calgary should implement its own pesticide directive
BY GIDEON FORMAN, FOR THE CALGARY HERALDJUNE 1, 2009


On July, 15, 2008, Calgary city council directed staff to draft a bylaw banning non-essential pesticides and bring it to the Utilities and Environment Committee no later than October, 2009.

It seemed like a simple directive and following its passage the Herald reported that "city staff said what happens next is clear: a bylaw phasing out the use of pesticides will be brought forward in the fall of 2009."

But what staff once labelled clear they now label unclear. They now say the issue is mired in confusion and they are calling for a delay of the whole process until April, 2010.

We in the health community believe there is, in fact, no confusion here. Rather, "lack of clarity" is being used as an excuse to sideline the pesticide issue until the spring --pushing it into an election year during which aldermen will be reluctant to pass it. It's a clever strategy by anti-ban fanatics, but it doesn't leave the people of Calgary well-served.

Full story...Calgary should implement its own pesticide directive