Ontario’s top health and environment organizations are urging the McGuinty government to enact strong legislation banning the use and sale of cosmetic pesticides.

In January, the coalition released a five-point statement outlining what it would like to see in the new legislation:

1. Prohibits the use, sale, and retail display of cosmetic/ornamental pesticides for outside, non-agricultural use (including pesticide/fertilizer combinations);
   
2. Allows exemptions only to protect public health;
   
3. Requires publicity of the ban and public education about alternatives to pesticides;
   
4. Includes effective mechanisms for enforcement; and
   
5. Is passed in 2008 and is phased in and fully implemented within the government’s current mandate.

YOU OR YOUR GROUP CAN SIGN ON IN SUPPORT HERE.

1. Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE)
   
2. Canadian Cancer Society
   
3. Canadian Environmental Law Association (CELA)
   
4. Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)
   
5. David Suzuki Foundation
   
6. EcoJustice
   
7. Environmental Defence
   
8. Learning Disabilities Association of Canada
   
9. Ontario College of Family Physicians (OCFP)
   
10. Ontario Medical Association – Pediatric Division
    
11. Ontario Public Health Association (OPHA)
    
12. Organic Landscape Alliance (OLA)
    
13. Pesticide Free Ontario (PFO)
    
14. Prevent Cancer Now (PCN)
    
15. Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO)