FYI - from the Ban-GEF list re: municipality regulation of pesticides...
Ericka Dana
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From: joe cummins <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2001
To: Ban-Gef <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: B-GE:limit on pesticides upheld by supreme court

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/updates/story.html?f=/news/updates/stories/
20010628/national-514022.html

Quebec municipal bylaw limiting use of pesticides upheld by Supreme Court

Canadian Press

OTTAWA (CP) - A Quebec municipality can regulate pesticide use, the Supreme
Court of Canada ruled Thursday. The decision upholding a bylaw of the
Montreal-area community of Hudson has broad implications for the use of
pesticides across Canada. "It is reasonable to conclude that the town
bylaw's purpose is to minimize the use of allegedly harmful pesticides in
order to promote the health of its inhabitants," Justice Claire
l'Heureux-Dube wrote for the court.

This purpose "falls squarely" within the health component of the provincial
act regulating municipalities. Permitting the town to regulate pesticide use
is consistent with international law's "precautionary principle," which
states it is better to be overly cautious than to create a potential risk to
the environment, l'Heureux-Dube wrote.

However, she said, it is important to keep in mind that such open-ended
provisions as the one in Quebec's Cities and Towns Act "do not confer an
unlimited power.

"Rather, courts . . . must be vigilant in scrutinizing the true purpose of
the bylaw."

The bylaw responded to concerns of Hudson residents about alleged health
risks caused by non-essential uses of pesticides within town limits. The
judges noted that Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova
Scotia, Ontario, Northwest Territories and Yukon all have similar provisions
in municipal enabling legislation.

The case pitted two landscaping companies, Chemlawn and Spraytech, against
the Montreal-area community over a 1991 bylaw limiting use of lawn
chemicals.
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