Q: We farm beside organic farmers in western Saskatchewan. What can we do to get these farmers to spray for grasshoppers and to do a better job of weed control? We get their weeds and grasshoppers. The local municipality will do nothing.
A: Like all other farmers, organic farmers are required to take reasonable efforts to control weeds and pests. However, this legal duty is primarily based on the assumption that landowners will voluntarily take such measures. If not, then the responsibility rests with the municipal council to enforce this duty.
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Saskatchewan’s Pest Control Act requires that every person “shall take measures to destroy, control and prevent the spread of all pests on any land or other premises owned, occupied or controlled by him.”
Regulations under the act declare grasshoppers are a pest.
The local municipality can pass a bylaw requiring a landowner to control and destroy pests, including in the ditch bordering the land. A council can appoint an officer to enforce the bylaw. This official can order the landowner or occupant to destroy and control pests. Failure to do so means the officer can arrange for the necessary pest control and the cost will be billed against the landowner.
If a council fails to appoint an officer, 25 ratepayers can ask that such an appointment be made. If the municipality doesn’t do so, the minister of agriculture can.
There is similar legislation in Alberta, and the regulations in that province also declare grasshoppers to be pests. As in Saskatchewan, primary responsibility for enforcement of pest control rests with the municipality.
The Noxious Weeds Act (called the Weed Control Act in Alberta) requires landowners to destroy noxious weeds on their land and prevent their spread to other land. This legal duty is met when the landowner or the tenant has undertaken weed control methods normally used in the area during the time when weed control is applied.
In Saskatchewan, 10 ratepayers can petitionthe council to appoint a weed inspector. Ifcouncil fails to do so, the minister of agriculture can do so.
As under the Pest Control Act, the weed inspector can order the landowner or tenant to undertake necessary measures to control weeds. Failure to comply with any order is an offence under the act and the weed inspector can take such steps as necessary to destroy the weeds on the land.
The cost of weed destruction can be recovered from the landowner.
Of course, while there is this general duty to control pests and weeds, the more difficult question is what measures a landowner must take to control weeds and pests. Saskatchewan’s Pest Control Act requires that the farmer “shall take measures” and if a municipal bylaw is passed, “take adequate means of controlling or destroying the pest by the methods specified in the bylaw.” The Alberta legislation requires the farmer to take “active measures.”
You don’t need to be a lawyer to appreciate that words like “adequate means” and “active measures” can be debated for a long time when it comes to farming standards. In my view, I would question whether a municipality has the legal authority to require an organic or any farmer to use pesticides. In my opinion their authority is to require that a landowner take measures, but not a specific kind.
