"If you don't give up, you win sooner or later."

June 13, 2006
 
 London Free Press
 
 London bans pesticides

The 13-6 vote, after a two-hour debate, allows exemptions such  as sports fields and farms.
By JOE BELANGER, FREE PRESS CITY HALL  REPORTER

  In two years, Londoners won't be allowed to kill their dandelions -- or any  other weeds -- with pesticides.
  Sensing the political winds in an election year, city council voted 13-6 last  night in favour of a bylaw banning the cosmetic use of pesticides.
  The bylaw takes effect in September 2008, giving industry and residents three  growing seasons to adjust.
  "It's the right thing to do," said an elated Coun. Bill Armstrong, who led  the push for a bylaw.
  Two key issues to be resolved are how the bylaw will be enforced and the  breadth of a public education campaign.
  City staff estimate enforcement will cost up to $300,000 a year, while an  education campaign could cost $300,000 -- nearly $1 million over three years.  
  Last night's vote came after a two-hour debate with most council members  speaking.
  Council first voted on a series of four proposed amendments, including one  calling for a total ban. The only one that passed was an exemption for playing  fields and lawn bowling centres proposed by Coun. Cheryl Miller.
  "It was that one final compromise to make it a good majority of councillors  to pass the bylaw," said Sean Hurley, spokesperson for the Coalition Against  Pesticides in London. "I think they've made a good decision. It's a good bylaw."  
  Other exemptions in the bylaw -- mostly a blend of bylaws passed in Toronto  and Peterborough -- include golf courses, farms, swimming pools, utility rights  of way and for threats to human health and insect infestations.
  John Matsui, spokesperson for the lawn-care industry, said he wasn't  surprised by the vote.
  "It's clear Imagine London is in control of the majority of city council and  they're to be congratulated," Matsui said.
  "That's what London should get used to."
  Sam Trosow, the driving force behind the citizens' group Imagine London,  which also successfully appealed to the Ontario Municipal Board for a new  14-ward electoral system, said he's happy with the bylaw, except the phase-in.  "But it's a real victory for those of us working for a meaningful bylaw for  London."
  The debate was mostly civil, but Deputy Mayor Tom Gosnell raised eyebrows  when he described council's pro-ban members as "idealogues."
  "I hear a lot of opinions, but don't see a lot of facts," Gosnell said.  "We've heard just a lot of people scare-mongering. You have to have evidence and  you have to have empirical evidence."
  Gosnell echoed the lawn-care industry's position that scientists at Health  Canada and similar agencies around the world have approved pesticides for use,  including 2,4-D, the main herbicide used by the lawn-care industry, saying they  pose an acceptable risk if used as directed.
  Ban supporters concede there's little or no scientific evidence showing a  direct link between pesticide use and health issues, but argue banning cosmetic  use of the materials is needed as a precaution because of casual links and  associations between various ailments and pesticides.
  Council defeated a bylaw last November that would have allowed spraying of  pesticides on up to 20 per cent of a property owner's lawn, reducing that to 10  per cent by 2010.
  But the debate was renewed in the wake of a poll by the Canadian Cancer  Society and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment that  found 74 per cent of Londoners favoured phasing out pesticides.
  "I think that poll really helped make council realize we do have public  support," said Trosow.
  Meanwhile, council began to feel the pressure as political observers warned  the pesticide issue was emerging as a major issue for the Nov. 13 election.
  Laura Wall, manager of the Elgin-Middlesex unit of the cancer society, was  pleased.
  "We recognized the weight that poll would carry, and that's why we worked so  hard the last four or five months to answer questions for council and the  public," Wall said, adding the group will now shift focus to the public  information campaign.
  HOW COUNCIL MEMBERS VOTED
  - In favour of a pesticide ban: Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco, Controller Gord  Hume and councillors Fred Tranquilli, Bernie MacDonald, David Winninger, Susan  Eagle, Sandy White, Judy Bryant, Ab Chahbar, Cheryl Miller, Joni Baechler, Bill  Armstrong and Harold Usher.
  - Opposed: Deputy Mayor Tom Gosnell, controllers Bud Polhill and Russ  Monteith and councillors Roger Caranci, Rob Alder and Paul Van Meerbergen.
 
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 Armstrong lauded over pesticide ban

                By JONATHAN SHER, FREE PRESS CITY HALL REPORTER
                         
                          Supporters of a pesticide ban tipped their hats yesterday to a city councillor who pushed the issue even when many thought it was dead.
  Ward 4 Coun. Bill Armstrong drew stares of disbelief, when, in February, he pushed for a ban even though a less stringent measure had been rejected three months earlier.
  A supporter of the ban, London Mayor Anne Marie DeCicco, said then she was resigned to letting the next council consider the issue.
  Last night, a smiling DeCicco was singing a different tune.
  "Good for (Bill). I'm delighted council finally saw reason," she said.
  The debate on pesticides here began in 2001, but the tide turned this year, when the Canadian Cancer Society released a survey suggesting 74 per cent of Londoners wanted to phase out pesticide use on private property.
  "We definitely feel the survey reinvigorated the debate," said Laura Wall of the society's Elgin-Middlesex unit.
  "It gave councillors the assurance a majority of Londoners wanted this," she said.
  But it took Armstrong to take the results and ask for a ban, she said.
  "He showed a lot of courage . . . He seized the moment and pushed it forward," she said.
  Asked about his role, Armstrong downplayed his contribution, saying the ban came after a "team effort."
  It was not the first time Armstrong had championed a cause his colleagues thought was lost, he said.
  But that was more the reason to keep pushing, he said. "If you don't give up, you win sooner or later."
 
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