LETTER — Pesticide ban would put businesses at risk
Open Letter to Mayor & Council
RE: Kamloops Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors position on the proposed pesticide ban
Dear Mayor & Council:
The Kamloops Chamber of Commerce is concerned that the City’s proposed amendment to the pesticide bylaw will put local businesses and their employees at risk.
We believe that consultation with the Kamloops Chamber of Commerce, other business organizations and the community as a whole has been lacking on this very important issue. It is our understanding that minimal research has been done and an opportunity to engage with the business community to obtain feedback has been very limited. It is our belief that if much more consultation had taken place, our City Council would have a better understanding of the impact of their vote.
The fact that pesticides are legally available under provincial legislation, and deemed safe by Health Canada, also makes the bylaw virtually unenforceable. It is almost impossible for City Bylaw Officers to enforce a pesticide ban when these products are legally available on local store shelves.
The Kamloops Chamber of Commerce strongly urges Mayor and Council to reconsider the proposed ban on pesticides.
Respectfully,
Ryan Scorgie
1st Vice President, Board of Directors
Kamloops Chamber of Commerce
ArmchairMayor.ca 
Lawrence –
Your complaint is aphids ?
You can actually go to a local nursery and order/buy ladybugs.
.
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Since Councillor Lange put forward the
motion there has been plenty of time to consult.
There is a dire need for environmental stewardship and leadership.
The “beliefs” of the KCC on this matter are laughable at best.
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Seems like the bylaw is rather selective, eliminating city property and commercial properties from the equation. Why?
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Putting business at risk is not the determining factor here. Putting people at risk is. Do pesticides and herbicides do that? Look at the science.
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Good appeal from Kamloops Chamber of Commerce, but unfortunately, the majority of council feel that they know what is best for the city as a whole. As I said yesterday, my aphids say thank you very much, for creating a situation allowing them to survive. Again. your proposed bylaw amendment will be a joke, how is the city going to enforce it, are you going to hire more bylaw officers, are you going to have neighbours reporting on neighbours? Are we as a city willing to answer the challenges that will wend their way into and through the courts, as residents defend their right as tax-paying land owners. Finally, don’t bother us with Communities in Bloom etc.
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Lawrence, you know you can still spray trees right? Even if the ban is put in. If you have aphids why didn’t you spray them before? Unless you are making a point that you don’t mind the aphids and in that case, sure, have aphids. You make light that enforcement will be difficult and you are probably right. But can even the RCMP enforce every law? There are still thieves and murderers amongst us. Neighbors report neighbors who water their driveways. People still speed, people still littler (another by law offence) and people still break or bend every law created. There will never be enough people to enforce the laws, whether by law or otherwise. You just have to hope that people are actually decent and respect the laws.
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Please note that residential homeowners will not be allowed to use pesticides on lawns, shrubs and or trees, effective January 2016.
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