Canada's Top Court Backs Precedent-Setting Pesticide Ban In Toronto Despite Industry Opposition

Nov. 18, 2005.

Toronto Star
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Top court backs pesticide ban
Lawn-care industry appealed bylaw
Homeowners face fines starting in 2007

PAUL MOLONEY
CITY HALL BUREAU

Environmentalists are hailing a Supreme Court decision that upholds
Toronto's ban on pesticides.

"It's an enormous victory," Gideon Forman, of the Canadian
Association of Physicians for the Environment, said yesterday. "We
hope other cities take strength from it and pass their own bylaws."

The decision means the pesticide industry has exhausted all legal
avenues in its attempts to strike down the city's bylaw, which
restricts the use of pesticides on lawns and gardens. It also means
that starting Sept. 1, 2007, Toronto homeowners who break the bylaw
will face fines.

The pesticide industry, represented by CropLife Canada and the Urban
Pest Management Council, had asked the Supreme Court to hear an
appeal of the bylaw, which restricts the use of pesticides on lawns
and gardens. The industry had unsuccessfully challenged the bylaw at
Ontario's Superior Court of Justice and the Ontario Court of Appeal.
Yesterday the top court refused to hear their appeal.

The bylaw - passed by Toronto council in 2003 - essentially banned
the use of pesticides with few exceptions. The pesticide industry
challenged it arguing it duplicates existing federal and provincial
laws on pesticide use, which are also designed to protect health and
safety.

Forman, whose group participated as one of six intervenors in the
appeal court case, accused the industry of using the courts to
discourage other municipalities from passing bylaws.

"A lot of municipal councillors were a little bit nervous, on the
fence, saying we can't pass our own bylaw until (the Toronto case) is
decided," Forman said. "That was the industry's tactic."

The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment said some
70 communities across Canada have similar laws in place but
municipalities often face tough battles getting them passed - the
city of Ottawa failed just last month to bring in a pesticide ban.

Justin Duncan of the Sierra Legal Defence Fund said he thinks other
jurisdictions will now follow Toronto's lead.

"I think a lot of municipalities were just waiting to see what
happened with this case - I think we'll be seeing a flood of these
type of bylaws now that it's clear that municipalities have
jurisdiction to enact them," Duncan said.

Councillor Joe Mihevc (Ward 21, St. Paul's) argued that yesterday's
decision shows that the city was on solid legal footing.

The bylaw restricts, as of April 1, 2004, the outdoor use of
pesticides - insecticides, herbicides and fungicides. As of Sept. 1
this year, commercial applicators could face a $225 ticket for
non-compliance.

with files from canadian press

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