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Manitoba lobbied today to end cosmetic pesticides

By: Staff Writer

Monday, Sep. 24, 2012 at 8:45 AM | Comments: 1

A coalition of health and environmental groups is hoping the Manitoba government will impose strict regulations and ultimately full-out bans regarding the use of cosmetic pesticides consumers utilize to destroy insects and weeds solely for the purpose of enhancing the appearance of lawns or gardens.

Representatives with the coalition Cosmetic Pesticide Ban Manitoba plan to deliver a letter later today to Conservation and Water Stewardship Minister Gordon Mackintosh, calling on the Manitoba government to ban the sale and use of sprays, liquids and powders containing chemical pesticides. The group intends to hand over letters and signatures to Mackintosh following a press conference at 10 a.m. in front of the Manitoba Legislature. To date, more than 1,000 people have shown support for the ban either by signing letters or by adding their names to an online petition

"Cosmetic pesticide use is a public health issue, particularly for children," said Dr. Debbie Pollock. "It is well established that children are at a greater risk from pesticide exposure than adults." Pollock added that pesticides can also have long-term health effects, resulting from both acute poisonings and from chronic exposure.

"We cannot justify the use of cosmetic pesticides to control dandelions and other weeds when the potential threats to human health, animal health and our environment, including Lake Winnipeg, are so great," said Vicki Burns, outreach coordinator with the Lake Winnipeg Foundation. "At a time when the health of Lake Winnipeg is so threatened, why allow a practice that is so unnecessary and has the potential to be so damaging?"

Cosmetic Pesticide Ban Manitoba launched its campaign last summer in response to a consultation being conducted by Manitoba Conservation into the use of cosmetic pesticides in Manitoba. Six other provinces, representing more than two thirds of Canada’s population, already have regulations in place limiting the use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes. The group's petition can be viewed online at: http://tinyurl.com/pesticide-ban

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Posted by:K. Jean Cottam

September 25, 2012 at 9:50 AM

The comments I have seen so far from residents of Manitoba are worrisome. People in Manitoba appear to be misinformed or very poorly informed on this issue. Articles such as this one are helpful in changing the perception of what urban pesticide bans are all about. First of all, the management of pesticides at the federal level is extremely weak. This is why our provinces have to step into the regulatory void. I am a retired federal public servant familiar with the pesticide approval scene in Ottawa. Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has no labs of its own and merely examines rat (toxicological) data submitted by the pesticide industry. However, unlike humans, rats have detoxification genes. The PMRA scientists are weak in examining human (epidemiological) studies. Some controversal studies may be withheld from the PMRA by the industry. The PMRA pays in excess of $8 million to the industry for product registration. Among the shortcomings characterizing the current process of pesticide data submission and evaluation is ignoring the likely presence of toxic dioxins, the unwanted but likely product of pesticide manufacturing. Urban application of pesticides results in second-hand involuntary exposures of third parties including vulnerable young children. It thus involves similarities to second-hand exposures to tobacco. Bear in mind that persistent and noxious weeds are exempt from urban pesticide bans. In this manner the ecological balance remains intact.

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