| Ontario Bans Cosmetic Pesticides | 23 May 08 |
 Large retailers of lawn and garden supplies are responding to the Ontario-wide ban on the sale and cosmetic use of pesticides. The draft list of banned pesticides contains more than 300 products.Premier Dalton McGuinty said he is determined to bring in a "single, solid, safe and effective" province standard to Ontario, coming into affect spring 2009. Exceptions for use of pesticides would be made for golf courses, farms and forests. "Many municipalities have already shown leadership in banning or restricting cosmetic-use pesticides. We're extending that protection to all families wherever they live," said Environment Minister John Gerretsen. Canadian Tire, the largest retailer of lawn and garden products in the country, is already expanding their eco-friendly lawn care products. Home Depot and Walmart Canada have committed to stop selling "traditional" pesticides and herbicides by the end of 2008. Over 44 percent of Ontarians live in a municipality where the cosmetic use of pesticides is already banned, many with stronger protections than the provincial legislation proposes. Quebec is the only other province in Canada to have a similar ban on pesticide use. View April 22, 2008 Ontario government press release View April 22, 2008 Ontario government backgrounder View April 23, 2008 PlanetArk article View April 23, 2008 Calgary Herald article Visit Pesticide Free Ontario Sources: Government of Ontario, Canadian Press, PlanetArk, CBC, Calgary Herald |
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