While everyone may think the provincial has banned the cosmetic use of pesticides, a quick check with the province’s environment department confirmed this afternoon that not only haven’t they gazetted the regulation needed for the ban, they haven’t even written it yet.
That’s not what the news release would have you believe.
The headline reads:
“Ban implemented on cosmetic pesticides for lawn care”
Note the past tense of the verb, suggesting this is something was already done.
The provincial government actually announced on Thursday that it will - that is, at some undefined point in the future - write a regulation, send it for approval and have it gazetted to bring it into force.
But until then: nada.
Without a regulation putting the ban in effect, there’s no other legal way the provincial government can ban the cosmetic use of pesticides.
No reg.
No ban.
This isn’t the first time the provincial government had problems with pesticide regulations.
In February 2004, then-environment minister Tom Osborne announced a consultation into new pesticide regulations to replace pesticide regulations introduced in 2003 by the Liberals.
In September 2005, he announced the new regs would be implemented shortly thereafter.
They were introduced in April 2007, just in time for the provincial election.
Plenty of people have been fooled.
None of them did a simple bit of homework.
News media took the announcement of government’s intention to ban the cosmetic use of pesticides and ran it as if the ban was done. Both of the province’s opposition parties issued news releases praising the provincial government for listening to people and doing what’s right.
- srbp -