Pesticide-Free CRD is a coalition of citizens and organizations that is taking action against the non-essential use of pesticides in our communities. Check our links section to see member organizations

 

Our Mission is to protect the health and environment by eliminating the use of all unnecessary pesticide products. (please below for more details on this issue).

 

The coalition:

Advocates for bylaws that ban the non-essential use of pesticides;

Promotes education programs that provide information to the public and landscapers on alternatives to chemical pesticides for managing the health and beauty of our urban landscapes; and

Supports all initiatives that reduce our community’s exposure to pesticides.

 

We Need Your Voice:

We need more voices to help us. We are looking for concerned citizens and organizations to join our coalition to put more pressure on municipalities in the CRD to immediately pass bylaws prohibiting the non-essential use of pesticides.

 

We know you are busy, so we have tried to make it easy for you to help. We have prepared letter templates, petition templates, and fact sheets to get the word out. These materials are on our website at Take Action.

 

We will send out Calls to Action, particularly when a municipality is considering a bylaw and we need to show wide public support. It is incredible how 500 names on a petition and 100 letters to council can really create the push that makes councils do the right thing!  (It would be also helpful if you could let us know when you are sending out emails, letters or getting petitions signed so that we can track our reach and community progress).

 

So, please let us know:

 

Would you like to receive more information on this topic (research, fact sheets, information on alternatives to pesticides)?

 Would you be interested in helping with Calls to Action (e.g., sending a letter to council or notifying your networks of an upcoming council decision)?

Can you lend your time and talent in some other way to help ban the non-essential use of pesticides in the CRD?

 

Many thanks,

 

Nancy Falconer

Chair Pesticide-Free CRD

 

The Issue:

 

There is growing concern by residents in the Capital Regional District (CRD) over the health and environmental effects of pesticide exposure.  According to a recent Ipsos Reid Poll commissioned by the CRD (2007), 76 percent of residents in the CRD would support their municipality passing a bylaw restricting the non-essential use of pesticides. 

 

A pesticide is a substance intended to kill or otherwise control insects, weeds, fungi or pests.  It is an umbrella term that includes herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, and rodenticides.   Many communities are becoming increasingly alarmed about the non-essential (sometimes referred to as cosmetic) use of pesticides.  These are pesticides that are used for the purpose of enhancing the appearance of private lawns, gardens, parks, recreational facilities and golf courses.  There are no benefits to the use of these pesticides, except to improve the appearance of various landscapes.

 

Pesticides have been associated with a variety of health concerns including cancer, Parkinson’s, and asthma.  According to the Canadian Cancer Society, studies have linked pesticide exposure to both adult and childhood cancers including childhood and adult leukemias, childhood brain cancer, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, neuroblastoma, brain cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer, pancreatic cancer and some lung cancers.   Children are especially vulnerable to the effects of pesticides due to their under-developed immune systems, more permeable skin, and increased exposure through behaviors such as playing on the lawn and putting objects in their mouths.

 

The Solution:

 

In 1991, concerned about the links between pesticides and human health, the small city of Hudson Quebec passed the first Pesticide Reduction Bylaw in Canada.  Since then 140 Canadian municipalities have passed similar bylaws and more are in the process.  The Province of Quebec was the first to pass legislation banning the sale and use of pesticides for non-essential use and Ontario announced its province-wide ban on Earth Day 2008.  P.E.I.’s legislation is currently in process.  In these communities this legislation was spurred on by the efforts of passionate and organized groups of citizens like us.

 

The City of Victoria is the only one of 13 municipalities in the CRD to pass a Pesticide Use bylaw.    That means the children living and playing in Oak Bay, Saanich, Central Saanich and our other nine CRD municipalities may be safer in Victoria than they are in their own backyards. 

 

Please join us and together we’ll make change happen.

 

To join please contact:

Nancy Falconer

Chair Pesticide-Free CRD

Telephone: 250-380-2358

 

Download our about us letter for more information.

About us