Tom Fletcher, who writes the column B.C. Views in this newspaper, claims that pesticides are safe.
Tom obviously has not read information from two very reliable sources; the Canadian Cancer Society, which has called for a ban on the use and sale of cosmetic pesticides, and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. The Canadian Cancer Society’s position is based on the current body of evidence suggesting a connection between pesticides and cancer.
Pesticides can kill bees which are important for pollinating our food crops.
The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment states that the leading cause of poisonings in Canada is pesticides.
Tom Fletcher claims that the popularity of people wanting a ban on cosmetic pesticides in B.C. is only urban residents, however, rural people are switching to organic growing methods. Certified organic farms in Canada have grown from 1,000 farms in 1992 to 4,000 in 2009. In 2003, there were 395,000 hectares of organic land in Canada and now there is 700,000 hectares of organic land.
Rural people have set up a main street office in Lumby to educate people about the dangers of pesticides.
Ontario and Quebec have banned the use of cosmetic pesticides and when I visited those provinces, I noticed that the lawns and gardens were just as nice as they are in B.C.
Terry Dyck
Vernon
