Politics

Clark is already under the bus. Whether she uses this situation to do the right thing for once will be interesting to watch. There is the question of how much influence is exercised behind the scenes by those who managed to bend the committee to their will, which, of course, may well have a serious effect of what the Premier will be doing once her mandate runs out. There is also the possibility that the current opposition will implode and that there will be some further extension of the government by right-wing cabal, in which case the taste of a little crow (promoting the democratic process through committee) will be a small price to pay for the rewards that await her in the next phase of her existence. How sad that a group of people can wreak havoc on the health of the population and not only face no penalty, but also get to run the business of a government that is only about business.

Roundup's not so bad....

Disingenuous, to say the least, to specifically cite Roundup in the same paragraph as concerns levied by the Cancer Society, as it is a relatively benign herbicide. Some studies exist that indicate potential concern, but far more studies (and national policies) show that it is amongst the safest herbicides available, and of the studies that highlight concerns, other studies challenge their conclusions.

So why make it one of only two products mentioned in this article? Perhaps Tieleman, in his rush to take shots at his favourite targets, finds research a tedious and expedient obstacle.

Tough call, Christy. Support

Tough call, Christy. Support spraying park lawns with carcinogenic poison or bend to the dark corporate overlords. Good luck.

Tougher still would be to challenge the spraying of our food with poison. No politician is going to touch that.

'Do the right thing' isn't even in the picture. Why is that?

Who mowed down the Premier?

In the distant and colourful land of B.C. there lived a Premier Christy Clark, an MLA Bill Bennett and the wicked Canadian Cancer Society. Christy Clark wanted to ban the nasty cosmetic pesticides, but an MLA Bill Bennett developed a very close relationship with the pesticide industry--in fact, he came to believe everything they told him, despite his loss of several relatives to cancer. So, sadly enough, the residents of B.C. are not going to get their pesticide ban any time soon--at least as long as Bill Bennett is an MLA. Bill Bennett doesn't believe in junk science, the nasty science of the Canadian Cancer Society. He seems to prefer the science of CropLife Canada representing the pesticide makers and he fully trusts Health Canada. After all, CropLife Canada and Health Canada are in the same camp, they both maintain that pesticides are completely safe when used as directed. It is very, very sad to see a politician develop a cosy relationship with any industry, particularly the pesticide industry. However, time will tell whether residents of B.C. will stay satisfied with the status quo, i.e. B.C. according to Bill Bennett.

r

Mary McNeil

I wonder if the Honourable Mary McNeil has talked to her "friends" at the BC Cancer Foundation. She was the president and CEO there for eight years.
I would love to be a fly on the wall for those conversations!
And Roundup is NOT safe, not by a long shot. Anyone still holding that belief is sadly out of touch with current knowledge, and probably thinks GMOs are good too. Here is one of many "reviews" of this wonderful product.

http://www.gcbl.org/forum/there-safe-alternative-roundup

Greg Shea (Lake Cowichan)

Wanna weed my garden?

Has it occurred to anyone that they do not have to buy products they do not like?

Maybe this is more about wanting to control others?

Many of us have a bit of a garden, whether we like it or not, and perhaps some of us do not enjoy crawling around on hands and knees to weed?

My point would be that as long as one handles poisons responsibly, the damage is minimal.

Nobody seem to complain about airplanes dumping tons of fuel over cities whenever they feel a need!

Garden

Wwmg, why don't you just pour a cement pad and paint it green, probably cheaper in the long run

Does the BC Liberals actually

Does the BC Liberals actually have any policies or does each one of them go their seperate ways?

Caterpillars and butterflies don't sit on the boards

Caterpillars and butterflies don't sit on the boards of the big agrochemical companies but thank goodness they are allowed to alight and crawl around city council meetings, where they've been heard loud and clear: "please don't kill us!"

Children fancifully dressed as insects of various kinds have been so effective at representing the anti-pesticide movement in municipal councils across BC, new federal environmental assessment guidelines have attempted to have such representations banned for being to....well, too childish. But that's exactly the point city councillors have heard and taken to account when drafting municipal bylaws. Not often are children so politically effective; not often people listen to what children have to say, except, when it comes to pesticides, the salient point couldn't be made better by any other than those who have are going to be exposed the longest to what we do today.

There are other good reasons why pesticide restriction has been articulated more in the municipal jurisdiction: backyard application of pesticides within municipalities is much heavier and much more chemically diverse than pesticide use in farm fields. Towns and cities are where children will be most exposed to pesticides, not on farms or on the products they supply. Another important distinction is that farmers generally economize the amount of pesticide they use (and a viable market for expressly organic food crops already exists and is growing) whereas domestic applicators tend to arbitrariness (partly at the behest of direction labels that double as marketing tools) and overuse, that is, they usually use too much of the wrong stuff. Double that just to be on the safe side (which the label often recommends.)

It should be noted that municipal pesticide restrictions, whether influenced by kids dressed as butterflies at town meetings, or by pesticide industry lawyers and lobbyists, are seldom total. Most often the bylaw commits to banning the use of specific pesticides on public land only, leaving private lots up to the owner's discretion.

It never hurt that that discretion is sometimes swayed by those cute kids protesting at city council. Only the curmudgeons say they were put up to it.

metacomet

Too late, methinks:
http://www2.macleans.ca/2012/05/08/on-why-we-have-breasts-what-we-dont-know-about-implants-and-the-future-of-breastfeeding/
After reading a report about the presence of environmental toxins in breast milk in 2004, American journalist Florence Williams, who’d just had a child at the time, decided to have her own milk tested. She mailed samples to a lab. The results were astounding and unsettling: her toxin levels were exceptionally high

About controlling others

The reader who suggests that a pesticide ban amounts to controlling others, and they are unwilling to be controlled, forgets that if there is no ban than those who apply pesticides are already controlling their neighbours. After all, their poisons penetrate into other people's yards, their bodies and their drinking water.

toquer

Toquer - There is NOTHING benign about Round Up! The active ingredient is Glyphosate which is even proven by the BC Ministry of Environment to be harmful to amphibians. The surfactants that assist in adherence to broadleaf species allows the chemicals to penetrate the cells of living organisms and has been PROVEN to cause genetic alterations. This crap accumulates in the environment and has long lasting residual effects. If you see a BC cutblock that has been sprayed with Round Up signage will be posted recommending to NOT EAT any berries found near the treatment area. If you want to douse yourself in toxic chemicals go ahead but I do NOT WANT my child being soused in toxic chemicals in school and public playgrounds!

How gross!

And we have to remind ourselves, this ugly influence-peddling goes on all the time.

An example that comes to mind is these very questionable fire retardants. Because the California standard calls for resistance to open flame, it recently came out that almost all upholstered furniture is treated to meet the California standard.

I don't know how many other cities have banned cosmetic pesticides, but Vancouver has, so if you want them, you have to shop elsewhere. The natural alternatives sold in Vancouver are mostly vinegar. Look on the Internet and you can find a recipe (vinegar, a bit of salt and a few drops of liquid soap). For Dandelions, this solution works best when applied in the sun.

Start with facts

First statement I want to make is asking for clarification.

Pesticides or herbicides...(2) very different products, and until every story I've read on this subject...the one above as well, states that there is a difference, to me...well, you know what they are speaking out of.
To call for a pesticide ban, and then to go off on Round up is like condeming cars, then using a boat or a train as an example.

I dont care one way or another about the ban...but please do some research on the subject.

Municipal bans

Perhaps the banning of pesticides by many municipalities and the interplay with the proposed provincial ban merits some mention in this article? Sure many parts of the province are not within a municipality but large segments of the population already cannot use pesticides based on where they live and many retailers no longer sell them as a result.

Uninforcable

Sure ban the stuff and then go to the next community or the US and buy all you need. Also if you can't get round up a little gasoline on the weeds works well and keeps stuff from growing back.
Roundup is used regularly and then soil tests done two weeks later and the crop planted and sold as organic.

Research links pesticides to bee colony collapsse

"Colony collapse disorder threatens food crops valued at $15 billion a year. New research says farm chemicals (such as Roundup) put our food system at risk." -- Tyee

http://readersupportednews.org/opinion2/271-38/11620-a-last-chemical-gasp-for-bees