www.PreventCancerNow.ca
Patchwork of provincial “cosmetic” pesticide laws
leaves a third of Canadians
unprotected
Ontario and Nova Scotia permit
only the safest products for landscaping
Provincial laws lacking in the
west
OTTAWA (August 30, 2016). A report (cape.ca/pesticide-policy-report) released today highlights
a patchwork of ‘cosmetic’ pesticides laws across Canada. Roughly a third of
Canadians are well protected, and a third not protected at all from this non-essential
use of pesticides. The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
(CAPE) gives the provinces of Ontario and Nova Scotia top marks for limiting
pesticides to least-toxic products for urban landscapes; Quebec’s Pesticide
Code protects children both indoors and outdoors, but only addresses lawns and
not gardens; and west of Manitoba no province requires least-toxic options for
landscaping.
Eliminating non-essential pesticides is an easy step towards
healthier environments for children, as chemicals used to control pests (weeds,
insects, etc.), can have non-target effects. “Early life exposures to
pesticides can change a child’s life-time trajectory, affecting development and
increasing probability of chronic disease,” cautions Dr. Curtis Lavoie,
emergency physician at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario.
“Several weed killers and insecticides, registered by Health
Canada for home use, may cause cancer,” said Dr. Richard van der Jagt, Ottawa
haematologist. “The recent International Agency for Research on Cancer reviews
found that some common insecticides and the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup®) probably cause cancer. 2,4-D, used against
weeds on turf, possibly causes
cancer.”
“Least-toxic approaches should be the norm where families
live, work and play,” explained Dr. Meg Sears, Chair of Prevent Cancer Now. While
some provinces ‘black list’ a few chemicals, Ontario, Nova Scotia and Manitoba have
‘white lists’ of permitted products. “Listing best practices gives clearer
direction, and avoids the situation of new problematic products being permitted
simply because they are not on a banned ‘black list’,” Sears concludes.
“Organically maintained, beautiful green spaces can be more
resilient and sustainable, and very affordable,” says Mark MacKenzie,
past-president of the Organic Landscape Alliance, McNab/Braeside Township
Councillor.
Laws that successfully reduce pesticide use come with
public education to garden in accordance with clear, strong rules, backed up
with restricted sales and good enforcement. Local bylaws cannot restrict
pesticide sales, making them less effective than provincial laws that put hazardous
products off the shelves or behind the counter.
Pesticides laws substantially reduce environmental levels and exposures.
Ontario, Quebec and Alberta studies showed that pesticides from urban
landscapes enter waterways. Follow-up studies in the east showed that cosmetic pesticide
laws greatly reduced this pollution.
Jurisdictions without cosmetic pesticide laws rely on Health
Canada’s decisions that individual pesticides pose an ‘acceptable risk.’ These
decisions have been criticized by Canada’s Commissioner for the Environment and
Sustainability as being out of date, opaque, and not protective of the most
vulnerable, because a legislated protective 10-fold exposure margin is ignored.
Health Canada assesses only single ingredients rather than
realistic complex mixtures. “Many exposures trigger pathways to cancer, such as
inflammation, and interfering with genes, hormones or the immune system.
Pesticides can work in concert to disrupt natural functions, highlighting the
need to use least-toxic approaches,” explains Dr. Michael Gilbertson, a lead
scientist in the international cancer research collaboration known as the Halifax
Project.
“Health Canada relies on secret industry-supplied animal
testing data while discounting peer-reviewed science,” explained Dr. Sears. “Pesticides
are only banned when there is very strong evidence of serious human or
environmental harm. This proof can easily take a generation to assemble, if it
ever is.”
This highlights the need for a national ‘big data’ approach
to environmental and health data – Environmental Health Information
Infrastructure. Drs Sears and van der Jagt echo, “It is unethical to require
that many, many people be harmed by a pesticide before requiring known, safer
approaches, especially since data to prove or disprove pesticide safety is typically
not collected. Public health draws a line when pesticides are used for
aesthetics.”
Prevent Cancer Now is a Canadian national civil
society organization including scientists, health professionals and citizens
working to stop cancer before it starts, through research, education and
advocacy to eliminate preventable causes of cancer.
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For more information, please contact:
Meg Sears PhD 613
297-6042 |
