Pesticide ban proposal bugs some residents

KAMLOOPS – A proposal on banning pesticides for cosmetic purposes faced opposition almost immediately after it was announced.

Coun. Tina Lange’s motion calls cosmetic pesticides non-essential and says they pose needless risk to the health of people and pets. She says because they are spread through the air, water and soil there is no safe, contained way to apply pesticides, and consequently all residential use should be banned.

An online petition, Save Kamloops Landscapes, believes use of pesticides is a matter of civic liberty. It is your lawn, your trees, your flowers and it’s up to you how you choose to maintain them, the creators of the petition argue. The petition encourages residents to attend the June 2 city council meeting to make opinions known.

Currently, the rules governing pesticides in the city reads: 'Except as permitted in this bylaw, no person may use or apply pesticides or grant permission or authority to use or apply pesticides on residential lands, for the purpose of maintaining outdoor trees, shrubs, other ornamental plants or turf.'

What Lange’s motion hopes to change is what is permitted. The current exemption allows for persons with recognized credentials to apply pesticides on residential property. The motion, if passed, would not allow even this.

However, because of the provincial community charter, Kamloops can’t limit anything commercially. The most the city can do it regulate the homeowner, and this is what Lange hopes to do.

While the petition reads, 'Amending the by-law will mean a complete ban on pesticide and will prevent any control of infestations. We will have to live with weeds, insects, fungus and disease in our landscapes,' this is the only exception Lange allows for in her motion. The motion includes a provision to allow pesticides to be used in 'emergency situations, such as a serious pest infestation which threatens the health of people or public safety.'

To contact a reporter for this story, email Dana Reynolds at dreynolds@infonews.ca or call 250-819-6089. To contact an editor, email mjones@infonews.ca or call 250-718-2724.