Weed Out Lawn and Garden Pesticides

Do you use pesticides in an attempt to improve the appearance of your lawns or garden? Think again.

Researchers have found that pesticides can be associated with serious illnesses, including cancer, damage to the immune system, and neurological problems.  Children are particularly vulnerable. 

With safer alternatives available, this is a risk we can – and should – do without! That's why the David Suzuki Foundation is working to ban both the sale and use of so-called “cosmetic” pesticides.

Pesticide Free? Oui! analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of Quebec's ban on lawn pesticides – the first in the country - and offers recommendations for banning cosmetic pesticides in other provinces.Pesticide Free? Oui! analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of Quebec's ban on lawn pesticides – the first in the country - and offers recommendations for banning cosmetic pesticides in other provinces.

Read David Suzuki’s column on why his lawn is pesticide-free.

Learn more about how to grow healthy gardens, lawns and food.

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New Ontario Ban on Cosmetic Pesticides Raises the Bar for other Provinces

On April 22, 2009, Ontario became the second Canadian province (after Quebec) to ban the use and sale of cosmetic pesticides. Ontario’s new legislation and regulation provides for the most comprehensive restrictions on lawn and garden pesticides in North America.

Despite certain limitations, the new ban will protect human health and the environment from an unnecessary source of chemical exposures. More than 250 previously sold chemical pesticide products are now banned in Ontario, Canada's most populous province.

The David Suzuki Foundation summarizes the highlights of Ontario’s ban in this two-page factsheet (PDF).
              
Find out more on the Ontario Ministry of Environment web site.


Now it’s BC’s turn… Campaign for a Cosmetic Pesticide Ban in BC!

The BC government is considering “new statutory protections to further safeguard our environment from cosmetic chemical pesticides." This is a step in the right direction! Canada’s two largest provinces – Quebec and Ontario – have already banned the use and sale of many landscaping pesticides. It’s time for BC to catch up!

Make your voice heard! Click here to support a strong ban for BC.

Read the David Suzuki Foundation’s guest editorial to the Vancouver Sun, Why BC should ban lawn and garden pesticides (June 23, 2009).

Pesticide bans work! In Quebec, the number of households with a lawn or garden using chemical pesticides dropped dramatically to just 4 percent in 2007, one year after provincial regulations prohibiting the use and sale of many lawn pesticides were fully implemented. Without a province-wide ban, 25 percent of BC households with a lawn or garden still use chemical pesticides. (Statistics Canada, Households and the Environment, 2007)

Momentum for a ban on lawn and garden pesticides in BC is building.

• More than 25 BC municipalities have adopted by-laws restricting the use of pesticides on private and public lawns and gardens. For the latest count, check here.
• In 2008, BC mayors and councillors passed a collective resolution asking the provincial government to implement a province-wide ban. The support was overwhelming--only a single delegate voted against the motion. Read this CBC news article for more. The Union of British Columbia Municipalities affirmed their call for a province-wide cosmetic pesticide ban again at their 2009 convention.
• An unprecedented coalition of 18 health and environmental groups, including the David Suzuki Foundation, has issued a joint statement (PDF) in support of a BC cosmetic pesticide ban.

Latest News

• News Release, January 14, 2010 - Unprecedented coalition of 18 health and environment groups band together to support BC ban on lawn and garden pesticides
• News Release, April 20, 2009 – BC Health and Environmental Powerhouses Call for Cosmetic Pesticide Ban