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The Citizen, 2005-03-24, Page 6PAGE 6. THE CITIZEN, THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 2005. Letter to the editor Municipal pesticide bylaws: What do they add? THE EDITOR, Municipal pesticide bylaws - they come in all shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing in common - they are unnecessary. It seems that virtually every municipality in Ontario is at some stage of anti-pesticide bylaw development. Although some have wisely chosen to not pursue a bylaw, there are currently about five municipalities in Ontario that have some sort of a bylaw in A biking summer F. E. Madill Secondary School teacher Audrey Bos of Belgrave, will be biking across Canada this summer to help celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Christian Reformed Church in Canada. (Jim Brown photo) Cyclists leave B.C. Continued from page 1 group along any of the three legs of the journey. During any part of the three legs of the route, there could be as many as 160 riders invol­ ved. The bikers leave Vancouver on June 24 and arrive in Halifax on the Labour Day weekend. The Pacific leg is the 2,003 kms from Vancouver to Regina, SK; the Central leg is the 2,858 kms from Regina to Guelph, ON; and the Atlantic leg is the 2,279 kms from Guelph to Halifax. Although the average distance travelled each day will vary depending on the terrain, the average throughout the 10-week trek will be 117 kms. The average during the Pacific leg will be 105 kms per day, during the Central leg it will be 119 kms per day and during the Atlantic leg, it will be 127 kms per day. Although the Rockies will be daunting and the prairies will be exciting, she is concerned about travelling place and many others that are still grappling with the issue. The first municipal bylaw was introduced in Hudson, Quebec in the early 90s. After the landmark decision by the Supreme Court of Canada in 2001 to uphold the Hudson bylaw, the movement to introduce similar bylaws across the country began to gain momentum. So what do these bylaws add to the current regulatory framework? How do they through Northern Ontario, especially around Lake Superior, with its sharp curves and steep hills. “I am really looking forward to seeing Eastern Canada,” said Bos. One of the reasons she decided to go on this tour was because it is fully supported. “The luggage, tents and other personal items are all put into a support vehicle in the morning,” she said. “All I have to worry about is riding my bike.” She added that while the food is supplied, the riders have to cook their own meals. Bos said riders will be able to set their own pace, as long as they reach the designated night’s stop by nightfall. Riders will be able to stop and do some touring, if desired, along the route. She said the bikers will likely go in groups according to experience. Nine celebration rallies will be held throughout the 73-day ride. The group will ride six days and rest on Sunday. The first celebration rally will be better protect human health and the environment? First, let’s review where we are now. A few years ago the public was demanding greater accountability and higher margins of safety from Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). A new Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) received Royal Assent in 2002 to meet these demands. The public wanted greater protection for infants and June 24 held in Abbotsford. B.C. on June 26. There will be a celebration rally in Guelph on Aug. 14, with the riders getting into Guelph on Aug. 13. “This is a chance to meet people all across Canada,” said Bos. Although it may be considered a summer holiday by some, she will be kept busy. She is teaching until June 22, flying to Vancouver on June 23 and then beginning the tour on June 25. The tour finishes in Halifax on Sept. 3, with a celebration rally on Sept. 4. She flies home the same day, and is back in the classroom on Sept. 6. “It’s not exactly a holiday, it will be a busy summer,” said Bos. She is not the only one from the area. There is a team of three from Goderich, with each member doing one leg. There are also riders from Harriston, Listowel and Wingham taking part in the cross-Canada tour. children. The new PCPA ensures this. The public wanted to make sure that the cumulative and aggregate effects of pesticides from all sources (water, food, home. pets, etc.) were considered in safety assessments conducted by the PMRA. They are under the new Act. The PMRA supports the registration of reduced risk products and takes into account the “precautionary principle” as well. The new PCPA also mandates the re- evaluation of older products. In the case of 2.4-D, that re- evaluation was recently completed, and concluded once again that the product “can be safely used on lawns and turf when following label directions”. Many of these additional safety and accountability measures are not new, but have now been ensconced in legislation. So the people spoke and Health Canada listened. The new PCPA ensures that the public demands for increased safety and accountability regarding pest control products will be met. In Ontario, a second level of risk assessment also exists via the Ministry of Environment’s Pesticides Act This Act dictates whether, how, and by whom the products registered by PMRA can be used in the province. It mandates training for professionals, including farmers. This is an important difference in the regulatory Point. Click. It's that quick! Check out the Canada Revenue Agency's Web site for all the answers to your income tax questions. cra.gc.ca ■ Canada Revenue Agence du revenu ■ ' ■ Agency du Canada Canada framework here compared to provinces such as Quebec, where the movement to introduce municipal bylaws began. And yet, at public meetings and in letters to the editor, people continue to demand that municipal pesticide use bylaws be passed in the name of the precautionary principle, to ensure greater protection for embryos, infants, children and other sub-groups. Even though such protections are already incorporated into the new PCPA. So how can these bylaws add to our current, science­ based. internationally respected system? What does the general public know that the 400 scientists at the PMRA don't? At virtually every public meeting and in virtually every letter, editorial and other piece of literature questioning the safety of pest control products, complainants quote the Ontario College of Family Physicians’ 2004 report that detailed the potential risks of pesticide use. What they neglect to mention, however, is that the report, which fanned the flames of anti-pesticide rhetoric, is deeply flawed. It has been rejected by a number of scientific bodies within Canada and internationally. The significant flaws include: selective reporting of data (reporting positive associations, even with very small study group sizes, but leaving out negative associations within the same research paper), the treatment of pesticides as a single entity (similar to considering aspirin and cancer medication as one entity), and no acknowledgement of Health Canada’s or the Ministry of Environment’s role in pesticide regulation in the “laws in Canada” section of the paper. If a high school student wrote a report on pesticide laws in Canada and didn’t include the PCPA or the Pesticides Act, they would fail. One thing we can all agree on is that these products must be used responsibly, according to label instructions, just like any medication you may take or household cleaners you may use. Education is the key. In Ontario, farmers have reduced pesticide use by 52 per cent in the past 20 years. Regulations have not changed, but education and scientific advances have played a large role. Municipalities do not have the technical or financial resources to evaluate pesticide safety and enforce bylaws. Such bylaws would not enhance human or environmental safety in any case. Our existing regulatory framework is very effective and something we can all be proud of. Jackie Fraser, Executive Director, AGCare (Agricultural Groups Concerned About Resources and the Environment).