Tuesday is decision day on pesticides

NEWS/ CITY HALL — The fate of a controversial plan to ban the use of cosmetic pesticides in Kamloops will be decided Tuesday, but not before a few more people have their say.

Coun. Tina Lange’s notice of motion comes back for a decision at the regular meeting of City council, and chambers are likely to be filled to the rafters. If Lange succeeds, a motion stating that “no person may use or apply pesticides or grant permission or authority to use or apply pesticides on residential lands, for the purpose of maintaining turf, outdoor trees, shrubs, flowers, or other ornamental plants” will become law.

The lawn-care industry has waged a strong lobby against the change, and has garnered support from no less than the North Shore Business Improvement Association. And, Ken Sapsford, a retired research scientist from the University of Saskatchewan, will appear as a delegation opposing the ban.

But others will be there to support it. Fearon Blair and Elaine Sedgman of the Thompson Shuswap Master Gardeners Association are on the agenda to speak in favour of it. They’ll argue “how to have a beautiful garden using pesticide free gardening techniques and save our pollinators at the same time.”

Long-time anti-pesticide crusader Diane Czyzewski will appear with UBC professor Dr. Warren Bell, past founding president of the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) and founding president of Wetland Alliance: The Ecological Response (WA:TER).

Council members have received hundreds of emails and phone calls for and against the ban. Some of them say the public’s response has been more intense than any previous issue they can think of.

No one will know which way the vote goes until hands go up, but it’s expected that Coun. Donovan Cavers, Denis Walsh, and Deiter Dudy lean in support of Lange. Coun. Arjun Singh argued for a full ban in an earlier term of office, and voted in favour of a similar motion from Cavers three years ago. If they all vote for it, the ban would have the minimum five votes needed to pass.

However, Singh would rather see the provincial government be the one to put a ban in place. He has said that while he still favours a ban, he’s pledged to “keep an open mind” until the vote. And, it was Singh who moved to table the motion for six weeks when Lange brought it up.

Mayor Peter Milobar and Councillors Pat Wallace, Ken Christian and Marg Spina are on record as opposing the ban.

Lange proposes that the ban take effect Jan. 1, 2016. The full motion states:

WHEREAS cosmetic pesticides are non-essential synthetic chemical products used to improve the appearance of landscapes;

AND WHEREAS the use of non-essential cosmetic pesticides pose needless risk to the health of people and pets;

AND WHEREAS pesticides cannot be fully contained to a single location but move through the environment in water, air, and soil;

AND WHEREAS cosmetic pesticides cannot be “properly” or “safely” applied and should only be used in emergency situations, such as a serious pest infestation that threatens the health of people or public safety;

AND WHEREAS effective, alternative cosmetic pest controls exist;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that within the City of Kamloops, no person may use or apply pesticides or grant permission or authority to use or apply pesticides on residential lands, for the purpose of maintaining turf, outdoor trees, shrubs, flowers, or other ornamental plants.