Environment Minister Wants YOUR Opinion on Pesticides

Province Seeks Your Thoughts on Pesticide Use

By 250 News
Thursday, December 17, 2009 03:52 AM

Victoria, B.C.- Environment Minister Barry Penner has put out the call for your thoughts on whether additional restrictions should be placed on the use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes.

"It just makes sense to limit pesticide use to what is actually required to accomplish a particular task, which is why we already require the use of integrated pest management for many pesticide uses in B.C.," said Penner. "We now want to have a discussion about how we can encourage all British Columbians to reduce unnecessary pesticide use."

An online public consultation has been launched asking for your views on a number of issues, including: how to define the cosmetic use of pesticides, when it is appropriate to use pesticides and how to best regulate specific pesticides that have both cosmetic and non-cosmetic uses.

Pesticides used in B.C. must first be approved by Health Canada and are also regulated through the Integrated Pest Management Act, which sets rules for both the sale and use of pesticides. The act requires pest control companies to practice integrated pest management, which includes pest prevention and considering alternatives to pesticides. The act also requires that people be notified when pesticides are used on public land, and around multi-resident buildings.

The public consultation, will remain open until Feb. 15, 2010. The results of the consultation will be made public in the spring of 2010, along with information about any next steps to address cosmetic use of pesticides in B.C..

You can make your thoughts known by visiting the website at http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/ipmp/ and clicking on the Cosmetic Use of Pesticides Consultation button.