permaculture

[Mark <mpludwig@facstaff.wisc.edu>]

> Date: Sat, 23 Nov 2002 15:46:10 -0600
> From: "Leigh A. Rosenberg" <larosenberg@students.wisc.edu>
> Subject: [mad_ftaa] Fwd: Canada's Ban of Cosmetic Pesticides Threatened under
>  NAFTA
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> Canada's First Province-Wide Ban of Cosmetic Pesticides Threatened Under NAFTA
> <http://www.earthvision.net/>EarthVision Environmental News
>
>
> SAN FRANCISCO, November 15, 2002 - Quebec's Minister of the Environment has
> called for new regulations to reduce pesticide use throughout the province.
> In July 2002, the Minister presented a new Pest Management Code that
> includes strict new regulations designed to "progressively institute a
> decreased and more prudent use and sale of pesticides." The Code would ban
> a number of pesticides for non-agricultural uses including the herbicide
> 2,4-D, and has come under sharp criticism by a group of 2,4-D manufacturers
> in the U.S. who have threatened to sue the Quebec government under the
> North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
>
>
> The movement to ban the use of pesticides for cosmetic (purely aesthetic)
> purposes has grown steadily in Canada since June 2001, when Canada's
> Supreme Court upheld the 1991 pesticide bylaws of Hudson, Quebec. Hudson is
> one of nearly 60 Canadian city municipalities that already ban cosmetic
> lawn pesticides. Many more Canadian cities, including Montreal, Ottawa and
> Toronto, are also considering bans.
>
>
> "This could be the first province-wide or state-wide ban of its kind in the
> world," said Michel Gaudet, of the Coalition for Alternatives to Pesticides
> (CAP). CAP and other local citizen and environmental groups have played a
> key role in forwarding Quebec's Pest Management Code and promoting
> alternatives to urban pesticide use.
>
>
> The Code is expected to pass the Quebec government by the end of 2002 and
> come into effect in early 2003. The Code states that by 2003, synthetic
> pesticides will be prohibited in all daycare facilities and schools and
> cosmetic pesticides will be banned from all public land; by 2005, the ban
> will extend to all private green spaces. Fines will range from
> CAN$500-$30,000. The ban covers 23 pesticide active ingredients that,
> according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and/or World
> Health Organization (WHO), are known or possible carcinogens or endocrine
> disruptors, including lindane, malathion, MCPA, permethrin, benomyl, captan
> and 2,4-D.
>
>
> In addition to the ban, the Code will also increase buffer zones around
> spray applications, outlaw application of mixtures of pesticides and
> fertilizers, require sale and use permits for pesticide applicators,
> require golf courses to present pesticide use reduction plans, and provide
> a list of less-toxic and organic pest control products. The Quebec
> government also plans to support alternative pest management education for
> the public and training for pesticide applicators.
>
>
> One day after the Environment Minister presented the Code, the U.S.-based
> companies that manufacture 2,4-D threatened to sue under Chapter 11 of
> NAFTA. Donald Page, spokesman of the Industry Task Force on 2,4-D Research,
> stated that, "[Quebec is] going to have to stand up in court and prove
> [that 2,4-D causes cancer]." Page's group, funded by 2,4-D's largest
> manufacturers, Dow Agro-Sciences, BASF, Nufarm and Agro-Gor SA, is spending
> US$30 million on tests intended to show that 2,4-D is not carcinogenic. The
> U.S. EPA estimates that at least 58 million pounds of 2,4-D are used in the
> U.S. each year.
>
>
> This is not the first time that pesticide manufacturers have threatened to
> sue a Canadian government under NAFTA for projected profit loss (see
> PANUPS: Canadian Government Sued for Banning Lindane, January 3, 2002
> <http://www.panna.org/resources/panups/panup_20020103.dv.html>http://www.pa
> nna.org/resources/panups/panup_20020103.dv.html).
>
>
> However, the Environment Minister seems resolved: "I consider health to be
> more important than a perfect lawn. I would therefore like to ask Quebecers
> to avoid using pesticides, or if they need to do so, to use them in ways
> that respect our health and the environment."
>
>
> CAP has called for international support for the Quebec government to stand
> against the pesticide manufactures' lawsuit under NAFTA. For more
> information on how to support CAP in this effort, visit
> <http://www.panna.org/resources/documents/QuebecLetter.dv.html>http://www.p
> anna.org/resources/documents/QuebecLetter.dv.html
>
>
> Contacts: Michel Gaudet or Rohini Peris, Coalition for Alternatives to
> Pesticides (CAP), C.P. 434, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Quebec J3V 5G8,
> Canada; phone (514) 683-5701; fax (450) 441-2138; email
> mailto:caponline@videotron.ca>caponline@videotron.ca; Web site
> <http://www.cap-quebec.com/>http://www.cap-quebec.com/.
>
>
> Sources: CAP Press Release: Pesticide Coalition Applauds Quebec's Move to
> Ban Pesticides in Urban Areas, July 3, 2002. "Pesticide sparks NAFTA fight"
> July 5, 2002, The Montreal Gazette. "Quebec to ban cosmetic pesticide use"
> July 3, 2002, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation,
> <http://www.cbc.ca/>http://www.cbc.ca/. Quebec Pesticide Management Code is
> available at <http://www.menv.gouv.qc.ca/>http://www.menv.gouv.qc.ca/.
>
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Mark P. Ludwig
Poultry Research Lab
University of Wisconsin -Madison
608-262-1730 WK
608-846-7125 HM