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Legislation

Pesticide Use Regulations in Quebec

Many towns and provinces in Canada are banning or restricting the uses of lawn-care pesticides because of both health reasons and the desire to protect their drinking water supplies. Quebec is only one example of what is happening in Canada but it serves as a good model for regulations that reduce the exposures from lawn-care pesticides. The Minister of the Environment in Quebec has called for the following new regulations that will "progressively institute a decreased and more prudent use and sale of pesticides."

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.

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.

Annex 1 - A Partial List of Active Ingredients to Be Prohibited for Lawn Maintenance Purposes

Insecticides
Carbaryl
Dicofol
Malathion

Fungicides
Benomyl
Captan
Chlorothalonil
Iprodione
Quintozene
Thiophanate-methyl

Herbicides
2,4-D (all chemical forms)
Chlorthal dimethyl
MCPA (all chemical forms)
Mecoprop (all chemical forms)

Legislation

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