In April 2009, the weedkiller was banned in Ontario. The ban, known as the cosmetic pesticide ban, is now illegal to sell or use weedkillers because exposure to the chemicals can cause long-term health problems for children and pregnant women, according to the Ontario College of Family Physicians and the Canadian Cancer Society. Public health advocates and environmentalists like David Suzuki celebrated the revolutionary law, while people like my father complained about the imminent demise of their front yard. And finally, there are the plants and shrubs that are considered simply boring. These include gout grass; snow in summer; Ground ivy; Chickweed; Charlatan; Norway maple; and Caragana. The latter is not a weed and can be sold legally in garden centers, but note that the plant grows very quickly – up to one meter per year – and requires special maintenance to control it. The City of Calgary recently launched a multi-park program to remove Caragana and reintroduce native trees, shrubs, grasses and wildflowers. However, getting rid of this native Siberian shrub is a long process. Ironically, when I was immersed in my pesticide saga and panicked at the thought of dangerous border crossings, I never consulted the law myself.
It turns out that Canadian Border Patrol officers cannot confiscate weedkillers entering the province, even if they find them. They will only remove it if it contains illegal chemicals under the federal fertilizer law, which is much more lenient than Ontario`s. So I could have brought weed killers into the province all the time without any impact. My father may have said this all along, but I was too caught up in my own world to even understand it. In British Columbia, Home Depot and Rona have voluntarily stopped selling pesticides, while other stores such as Canadian Tire, Walmart and Home Hardware continue to sell these products in Newfoundland. Unfortunately, in Newfoundland, it is still legal to buy a pesitzid and apply it to your property. In municipalities that have prescriptions, it is not legal to use the pesticide. For a complete list of bylaws, see the next section, written by Mike Christie. Alberta`s ban on combined fertilizer-herbicide products environment.alberta.ca/02476.html Despite the ban on pesticide use in cities like Vancouver, products like Killex can and are sold in communities that have regulations. Only the provincial government has the power to prevent the sale of a product. 2,4-D has been controversial here since Quebec banned its use on golf courses and in home lawn care and defended the NAFTA ban after a Dow challenge. Many other provinces have followed suit.
The chemical is widely used here in agriculture and forestry and has been approved for general use by Health Canada. GMO seeds are also controversial for many consumers, although attempts to label GM foods have failed. I became like a smuggler of the prohibition era. The neighbors, desperately looking for a solution, would discover that the Edwards girl had a connection to the south, and I would be bombarded with requests I could not follow. This summary report (downloadable at www.healthyottawa.ca) was prepared by Mike Christie (Ottawa, Ontario) using Statistics Canada`s 2006 Community Profiles, released on March 13, 2007 and available online at tinyurl.com/2sd2ya. Any errors or omissions should be directed to mikechristie@rogers.com. New Brunswick Pesticide Control Act www.gnb.ca/cnb/news/env/2009e0865ev.htm Then, in the spring of 2012, three years after my father started harassing me for weed killers, I started experiencing “real adult problems.” I graduated from journalism school and was newly unemployed; I had recently broken up with my friend from Detroit. And in a month, I`d be homeless. It was too much to handle. My doctor prescribed an SSRI, a type of antidepressant that suppresses generalized anxiety, to deal with the debilitating symptoms I was experiencing: stomach pain that made me hungry but was also repelled by the idea of eating; headaches that lasted for weeks; The inability to perform simple tasks such as going to the grocery store. And on my doctor`s recommendation, I started seeing a therapist. Globally, public enemy No.
1 is undoubtedly Japanese knotweed, which is productive in Britain, but fortunately not in Canada. This racket can damage the walls and foundations of homes. In less than 10 weeks, it can grow up to three meters tall and it can take up to five years to be fully treated! Recent research has shown that a Japanese knotweed infestation reduces the value of a home by 10%. In addition, it is also more difficult to get a mortgage if a property is affected by grass. And you thought dandelion was a pain! Sign up to receive daily headlines from the Calgary Herald, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. To show how far Canada, and Newfoundland in particular, lags behind other developed countries, the Suzuki Foundation has created this list of 60 active ingredients in pesticides banned in most OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-ordination) countries, but approved in Canada. This list dates back to 2006, so these chemicals are now banned in many parts of Canada, but they are still allowed in Newfoundland and Labrador. This article was published more than 11 years ago. Some information may be out of date. Reviews and recommendations are unbiased and products are selected independently. Postmedia may earn affiliate commission for purchases made via links on this site.
I grew up in a small town north of Toronto, where lush green grass surrounds every home. Every spring, my father happily took Killex (his weapon of choice) out of the garage, attached the lime green cartridge to the garden hose, and sprayed his weed- and pest-infested lawn until the yellow spots disappeared. He was outside every Sunday morning, long before the rest of the family got up, tending to the lawn. His hard work ethic wasn`t about vanity or impressing neighbors. I think keeping the lawn healthy was a simple and humble pleasure for him. The pesticide 2,4-D, formerly sold across Canada under brand names like Killex, is banned in most provinces east of Manitoba as part of a much broader ban on lawn care cosmetics. The chemical is still widely used in agriculture and forestry. It is also sold for cosmetic purposes in the four western provinces as well as in the United States, Europe and Asia. Dow AgroSciences has asked the U.S. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, part of the USDA, to deregulate one variety of GMO corn and two varieties of soybeans. All three seeds are immune to several weedkillers. I still notice daily triggers of my anxiety, such as not knowing all the vegetarian options on a menu before eating at a new restaurant, or whether or not I should offer my seat to the passenger who looks like a senior but might be deeply offended if it turns out they`re only forty-five years old.
One thing I don`t have to be nervous about is weed killer. Thanks for the info. The general population is slowly waking up to the arrogance of chemical engineers, the greed of transnational chemical bodies, and the ingratie of government with our current poison bath/swallow. Keep up the good work! In addition to provincial prohibitions in Ontario, Quebec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia (enacted in 2011), 34 municipalities in British Columbia and two in Manitoba have active bylaws. It is said that Ontario has the most comprehensive law in Canada, if not the world. The Department of National Defence and the Canadian Forces have also banned the use of pesticides on their property. Our province could be the last place in Canada to ban cosmetic pesticides if our government does not address the issue.2 Pinch the moms one last time to ensure autumn flowering. “Quebec`s decision never had a scientific basis,” said Brenda Harris, the company`s director of regulatory and government affairs in Calgary. “And it cast a shadow over the safety of our product.” Ms Harris said the case was aimed at ensuring that governments were “transparent in their decision-making”.
2,4-D is approved for gardeners and farmers, but it is controversial as the main ingredient in Agent Orange, the herbicide widely used during the Vietnam War. So I`m in my therapist`s office, immersed in a burnt red chair. I talk to him about my problems as a boy and my career worries. And I also talk to him about weed killer. How my dad really needs it for the lawn, how I should get it the next time I`m in the US, how I don`t want to disappoint him, how it brings waves of discomfort every time I think about it.