Broadly
put, pesticides are substances – including both chemicals or bacteria – used to
kill, harm or discourage pests. Common
examples include “weed-killers” which we use on lawns or in farming to prevent
weeds from growing, poisons for vermin or sprays to prevent insects from
attacking our plants. Because many
pesticides are potent substances, that often affect organisms other than the
pest that they are used against, the provincial and federal governments have
seen fit to regulate them.
The
federal Pest
Control Products Act determines what pesticides should be legal
for use in Canada, and under what conditions.
The province’s Pesticide Control Act, administered by the Ministry of
Water, Land and Air Protection, regulates the sale and use of pesticides,
including:
·
setting qualifications for people that use or sell
pesticides;
·
issuing approval for pesticide use; and
·
investigating misuse of pesticides.
The
government is currently reviewing the Pesticide Control Act and has
indicated an intention to change the law as soon as Fall of 2003. As currently proposed the new Act would
reduce government oversight of pesticide use substantially.
Qualifications for using/selling
pesticides
The
Pest Control Act requires a person who:
·
sells pesticides (other than excepted pesticides)
·
applies pesticides on public lands
·
applies pesticides that are restricted under the Act;
or
·
applies or supervises the application of pesticides on a
professional basis
to
have received training in pesticide use and to have been certified by the
Ministry. Certificates are issued from
between 1 and 5 years.
In
addition to having at least one employee who is certified to sell pesticides,
businesses that sell pesticides must also be licenced to do so. Similarly, businesses that provide a
pesticide application service must be licenced.
The
use of pesticides (except restricted pesticides) on private land by a land
owner or tenant will generally not require a certificate or licence, although
the certified sales staff are required to discuss the use of the pesticide with
him or her when they purchase the pesticide.
Government Approval
The
Pesticide Act currently requires some form of government approval before
pesticides can be used:
·
on public land;
·
to a body of water (other than a man-made,
self-contained water body on private land);
·
on private land used for forestry, transportation,
public utility purposes or for the commercial transmission of electricity,
natural gas, oil or water.
The
government approval may take one of three forms:
·
A Pesticide Use Permit – A permit that sets out
where and how much pesticide will be used under certain circumstances; These are typically issued for 3 years or
less.
·
A Pest Management Plan – A plan
that sets out how an area will be managed to deal with pests, with pesticide
use as one of several possible strategies.
The plan states the types of circumstances in which pesticides will be
used. These plans are supposed to be
based on Integrated Pest Management, but critics charge that they have given
industry a free hand to determine where and when spraying will occur with
little government oversight. Pest
Management Plans are generally approved for 5 years.
·
The endorsement of a licence – The Ministry may
“endorse” the licence given to a pesticide application service to allow the
service to do use certain pesticides under certain circumstances with no
further government approval.
As
noted above, the Pesticide Control Act will probably be amended in
2004. The current proposals will see
the need for government approval removed in most cases. Instead, pesticide users will develop their
own Pest Management Plans according to standards without the need for
government approval.
A
person who believes they will be negatively affected by a government decision
under this Act can appeal that decision to the Environmental
Appeal Board.
Investigating Pesticide Use
Under
the Pesticide Control Act Regulation, no person is authorized to use a
pesticide in a manner that causes an “unreasonable adverse effect” on human
health or the environment. In addition
to this relatively vague restriction, the Ministry of Water, Land and Air
Protection monitors pesticide use to ensure that the technical requirements of
the Act are followed.
Related
Guide Pages:
·
Agriculture
·
Pest Control Products Act
·
Pest Management Plans
For more
information about the Pesticide Control Act:
·
Electronic version of the Pesticide
Control Act.
·
Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection’s Integrated Pest
Management Programme. Of special
interest is the site’s regulatory
information page.
·
Environmental
Appeal Board website.
