by Bart Padjasek

Pesticides were at the heart of another debate at city hall earlier this week. Councillors heard opinions from both public health professionals, and business owners on whether Edmonton should ban the chemicals for all non-essential and esthetic use.

“We’ve been studying the evidence for a number of years, and we’re concerned about linkages to numerous cancers,” stated Sara Hawkins of the Canadian Cancer Society.

The healthcare professionals submitted reports in favour of their position for review to council, but in the end  council members opted out of a ban and decided to instead focus on a new study and revisit the issue in two-years time.

Travis Pulfer of Green Oasis, a local lawn care service, was visibly frustrated with the process and feels that these discussions are just another reason to attack their industry. “What we have at the council [are] some medical doctors there that are expressing their opinion. They aren’t toxicologists, they aren’t scientists, and they aren’t the people that regulate the products.”

A common word that was thrown around the offices of Green Oasis was “emotion,” as in the public makes this an emotional issue rather than an issue of science and reason.

The Canadian Cancer Society is pushing for the city to put this bylaw into effect in the coming years, joining over 170 other Canadian municipalities already with similar bans in place. Alberta is the only province with no regions on board with the chemical ban.