A prairie New Democrat MP has presented a private member’s bill that could sharply limit or eliminate non-essential use of pesticides in Canada.
Winnipeg MP Pat Martin says not only will the bill come up for a vote in this Parliament, but he is confident it will pass.
The level of support politically is overwhelming, he said. Most Liberals will support it because it is borrowed from previous Liberal motions and the Bloc Québecois will support it.
“The government, in fact, may see this as an idea whose time has come and go ahead with it,” said Martin April 27.
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He said the main impact of the bill would be to reverse the onus on the process for approving a chemical for use on lawns and gardens, in parks or golf courses.
“The chemical manufacturers would have to prove to us beyond a reasonable doubt that their product is absolutely safe rather than us proving that it’s dangerous.”
Until that happened, product by product, there would be a moratorium on cosmetic or non-essential use of chemicals, taking effect on Earth Day, April 22, 2007.
Martin said there could be some effect on farmers if the company cannot prove the product is safe enough to reregister.
“Farmers are not the target here but I cannot deny it could have some residual effect,” he said.
The chemical industry quickly fired back.
The Urban Pest Management Council of Canada, a branch of CropLife Canada, issued a statement denouncing Martin’s bill as a political attack on scientific regulation. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency already regulates pesticides allowed on the market and determines their safety.
“Not only does it defy common sense for politicians to supersede the decisions of scientists, the cost of developing, debating and enacting new legislation that covers an area that is already extensively regulated is an irresponsible use of taxpayers’ money,” council executive director Debra Conlon said.
The association representing chemical product manufacturers also released an article written by Patrick Moore, once a radical activist and co-founder of Greenpeace Canada who now sees the environmental movement as too radical and has become a consultant to business. Moore lauded the impact of modern pesticides in increasing food production while not affecting the environment.
Moore, a regular speaker at CropLife conferences who denounces modern environmentalism as anti-corporate and wrong-headed, titled his statement sent out to newspapers: “How Pesticides are Saving the Earth.”
CropLife Canada has gone as far as the Supreme Court to fight attempts by municipal councils to declare their communities pesticide-free. It argues that if it is denied the lucrative urban market for its products, it will jeopardize the industry’s ability to be profitable and to produce the products farmers need.
Martin does not buy the argument.
“I’m aware of that argument and a lot of us view the chemical manufacturing industry as the tobacco industry’s evil twin and we’re not very sympathetic to them or their arguments,” he said.
He said 35 percent of the 50 million kilograms of chemicals used each year in Canada are non-essential.
“We don’t accept this will make or break the companies.”
