City environment manager Dan Adamson may not have to draft a bylaw banning household use of cosmetic pesticides in Prince George depending on the outcome of a provincial government effort to impose a similar prohibition B.C.-wide.
In April, city council unanimously voted to have city staff examine the impacts of imposing a ban and report back to council. But in early July, a special bipartisan committee of MLAs chaired by Margaret MacDiarmid, met for the first time to work towards legislation on the issue.
Adamson said he understands the committee will carry out a consultation process, although details have not yet been made public. As for drafting a bylaw for Prince George, Adamson said he's not sure when a decision will be made on whether that work will go ahead.
"We monitoring the situation," Adamson said. "I think people know we're kind of engaging how long they're going to take, what they're going to be doing and at some point we'll have to make a decision or go back to council and say 'here's where the situation is at.'"
Meanwhile, the Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) will host a screening of the documentary entitled A Chemical Reaction: The Story of a True Green Revolution on Wednesday in room 7-238 at UNBC. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. and the film will begin at 7 p.m.
The CCS is advocating a ban of the chemicals on lawns and gardens, which studies have linked to increased rates of leukemia, non-Hodgkins lymphoma, and cancers of the brain, lungs, kidney and prostate.
"People don't have any training - they often use much more than needed," society health promotion co-ordinator Kerensa Medhurst told city council in April. "Even if you practice pesticide-free gardening you can be exposed to pesticides if you neighbours use them."
Nearly 160 communities in Canada have imposed a ban on cosmetic pesticides, including 36 in B.C. But in northern B.C., only Terrace has a bylaw restricting their use,
Those communities have seen a 51 to 90 per cent reduction in pesticide use when bylaws are combined with education campaigns, according to the CCS.
