• Campaigns
• Getting Off the Bottle
• Pesticides
  
• Right-to-Know

• Resources

Major Donor
Leonard Schein
President,
Festival Cinemas

"I'm very impressed with the difficult work that Toxic Free Canada does. I support Toxic Free Canada because I know their knowledge and hard work will result in great strides in protecting the health and environment of the people of BC and Canada."

Don't stall on pesticide ban, says health environment group

Toxic Free Canada is calling on the BC government to honour their August 2009 throne speech commitment to consult with British Columbians on new statutory protections to further safeguard our environment from cosmetic chemical pesticides. The society's executive director Mae Burrows states, "Consultation must be focused on the How and When to bring in a province-wide ban on the sale and use of cosmetic pesticides, not on whether a ban is needed to protect the environment and human health."

Burrows points out that Ontario and Quebec already have provincial pesticide legislation to protect their citizens and the environment. More than 20 BC municipalities have adopted cosmetic pesticide bans, but the Community Charter does not give communities the legislative authority to ban the sale of pesticides, only to regulate their use. That's why delegates to the 2008 Union of BC Municipalities (UBCM) AGM passed a resolution asking the Province of BC to enact provincial legislation to answer concerns that these pesticides present a threat to the environment, children, pets and personal health.

The Ontario College of Family Physicians has stated that pesticides cannot be considered safe at any level of exposure, especially for children and pregnant women. States Burrows, "studies show that women exposed to pesticides as children are twice as likely to have breast cancer later. We need legislation developed now to protect our future."

According to the Harvard School of Public Health and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine for Children's Health and the Environment, millions of children may have been intellectually and developmentally affected by low dose exposure to pesticides. Enzymes found in many organophosphate pesticides disrupt the flow between synapses and can harm children. Exposures to chemicals in some pesticides may be linked to lowered intelligence, behavioural disorders, autism, ADHD, and asthma.

Toxic Free Canada wants to see provincial cosmetic pesticide legislation brought in by January 2011. The Vancouver-based non-profit organization was formed in 1998 to create alliances and initiatives that promote healthy workplaces, homes and communities and a healthy environment. Toxic Free Canada is the publisher of the popular CancerSmart Consumer Guide.