FW: Cobalt Councillors Congratulated As First In Ontario To BanPesticides (fwd)

[Kathie Brosemer <kathie@cleannorth.org>]

---------- Forwarded Message ----------
Date: Thursday, July 18, 2002 9:13 AM -0700
From: Janet McNeill <janet@oen.ca>
To: Janet McNeill <janet@oen.ca>
Subject: FW: Cobalt Councillors Congratulated As First In Ontario To Ban 
Pesticides


     Monday, July 15, 2002 - For immediate release


Sierra Club Congratulates Cobalt City Councillors;
First City In Ontario To Ban Pesticides

(OTTAWA) The Sierra Club of Canada today congratulated city councillors in
Cobalt, Ontario, on being the first municipality in Ontario to pass a bylaw
banning non-essential use of pesticides on all properties within the
municipality. The bylaw will come into force November 1, 2002.

"There are a number of communities in Ontario planning similar by-laws, and
we were all waiting to see who would be first. Cobalt beat us all to it!"
said Angela Rickman, deputy director of the Sierra Club of Canada.

Ottawa plans to introduce a by-law in the fall, and Toronto and Caledon are
both crafting by-laws of their own. Halifax was the only municipality
outside Quebec to have passed a by-law prohibiting pesticide use on private
property.

The Sierra Club of Canada has been working with groups, town councillors,
parents, and school boards in over 50 communities across Canada to phase
out the cosmetic use of pesticides. Campaigns are running in communities
from Cornerbrook, Newfoundland, to Victoria, BC.

The by-law comes on the heels of an announcement by the Quebec Minister of
State for Environment, Andre Boisclair, which will see chemicals for
non-essential uses banned in the province. The Canadian Cancer Society has
recently released its position advocating a ban on cancer-causing
pesticides, and only last week, the Canadian Public Health Association
passed a resolution denouncing non-essential pesticide use.

"This council has taken a bold step towards protecting Cobalt residents
from the most common and frivolous exposure to chemical pesticides in the
urban environment," said Rickman. "This is a great example of progressive
legislation and the exercise of political will to protect the most
vulnerable. Ultimately, if the most vulnerable are adequately protected, we
all are."

Information: Sierra Club of Canada, 613-241-4611
http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/media/cobalt-pesticide-02-07-15.html

-----------------------
Mayor André Bélanger, Town of Cobalt
18 Silver Street, PO Box 70
Cobalt, ON  P0J 1C0
Tel: 705-679-8877; E-mail: cobalt@ntl.sympatico.ca;
http://www.nt.net/cobalt/

Councillor John Boyd, Town of Cobalt

Benoît Serré, Liberal Caucus MP, Timiskaming-Cochrane
Tel:  (613) 992-2792; Fax:  (613) 992-2794; Email: Serre.B@parl.gc.ca


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