Ontario Pesticide Ban for '09

Happy Earth Day!

Last summer I was disappointed to find that our next-door neighbour had hired a non-organic company to take care of their lawn. Graham and I would sit out back, drinking our coffee in the morning, and then suddenly the powerful, sickening smell of the pesticide/herbicide cocktail would waft into our yard. Annoyed, disgusted, we'd head back indoors to finish our coffee.

I put a little sign in our garden in the hopes it would start a dialogue between us and our neighbour, but it didn't seem to phase them at all, which I just can't understand because he grows FOOD in their yard.

I was pleased this morning to discover an article in the paper (Pesticide ban set to grow, The Toronto Star, April 22, 2008) detailing our provincial government's plan to ban the cosmetic use of pesticides and herbicides, to be enforced beginning in the spring of 2009. The City of Toronto's ban took effect on September 1, 2007, but in the smaller cities and town around Ontario, it's been legal to spray lawns and yards with toxic chemicals. It's hard to believe that with all of the information available about the health effects of these kinds of sprays, people continue to use them in the very space their children play.

The new ban will mean that my next-door neighbour won't legally be allowed to spray their yard with pesticides and herbicides. The ban won't affect farmers, golf courses or managed forests, and the legislation will also force the manufacturers of pesticides and herbicides to reduce the level of toxins they produce.

I'll be pushing this information on my neighbour this year...they might as well get started with organic methods this year, since next year they'll be out of luck!

(Cross-posted at Playing in the Dirt and Moms Speak Up!.)