Schools, parks and other community spaces are all potential sources of toxic pollution.
These municipalities have adopted bans on cosmetic pesticides. Municipalities in italics have drafted legislation but have not implemented it as of this paper’s printing date.
Maritimes: Caraquet, Halifax, Shediac
Quebec: Ayer’s Cliff, Beloeil, Blainville, Boisbriand, Bois-des-Filion, Boucherville, Chambly, Chelsea, Eastman, Entrelacs, Greenfield Park, Hudson, Lac-brome, Longueuil, Lorraine, Montreal, Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Mont-Tremblant, Nicolet, North Hatley, Notre Dame de l’lle Perrot, Otterburn Park, Pincourt, Prevost, Rosemere, Saint-Bruno-de-Montarville, Saint-Donat, Sainte Geneviève, Sainte Thérese, Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue, Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs, Sainte-Anne-des-Plaines, Sainte-Martine, Sainte-Paule, Saint-Eustache, Saint-Lambert, Saint-Lazare, Saint-Marc-sur-Richelieu, Sherbrooke, Val-Bélair, Vaudreuil-Dorion, Village de Vaudreuil-sur-le-lac
Ontario: Caledon, Cobalt, Elliot Lake, Gananoque, Guelph, London, Markham, Orangeville, Parry Sound, Perth, Peterborough, North Bay, St. Catharines, Thorold, Toronto
BC: Cumberland, Gibsons, Nelson, New Westminster, North Vancouver (City & District), Port Moody, Vancouver, West Vancouver
COMMUNITY
municipal governments protecting citizens
Committing to a toxic-free home is a good step. Organizing others to enact laws that limit toxic contamination in your community has an even greater impact.
When the residents of Hudson, Quebec convinced their local council to enact a bylaw that banned the use of cosmetic pesticides (toxic pesticides intended only to improve the aesthetic appearance of lawns and gardens), they caught the attention of people across the country. Professional pesticide applicators challenged the bylaw, but residents defended their right to protect their community’s environment all the way up to the Supreme Court of Canada and in 2001, they won. Since then, dozens of communities across Canada, including major cities, have enacted their own cosmetic pesticide bylaws that protect the health of residents and prevent pesticide ingredients, which often include endocrine-disrupting chemicals, from polluting streams and groundwater. Another community initiative underway is a Toxins-Free Schools campaign aimed at substituting toxins in cleaning products, art, shop and science supplies, as well as making sure that asbestos and mercury are disposed of properly.
Toxins-Free Schools Campaign
In 2001, school custodial staff from CUPE Local 379 in Burnaby, BC sat down with the Labour Environmental Alliance Society (LEAS) to look at the cleaning products being used in Burnaby schools. Among the products they saw was a carpet stain remover that contained a possible human carcinogen and another cleaner that contained endocrine-disrupting toxins. Working with LEAS, school district officials and parents, they eliminated the products from the district’s 46 schools and replaced them with products that are safer for staff, students and the environment. This effort inspired LEAS, CUPE, the BC Teachers’ Federation and parents to launch a joint campaign to eliminate all toxins from schools. Burnaby School Board trustees were the first to sign a Toxins-Free Schools declaration while work continues to get other school districts on board. Meanwhile, a local campaign in New York state established a green cleaning program that affects all public schools in the state. For more information on the Toxins-Free Schools campaign, go to: www.leas.ca
