The standing policy committee on utilities and environment had asked for public input on whether or not the city should phase out the cosmetic use of pesticides on public land by 2009 and private property by 2010.

Dave Day, the city’s director of environmental safety and management, recommended that tough restrictions be introduced on pesticides and harsh lawn chemicals.

“If you’re applying pesticides uniformly across a lawn that has 17 dandelions, you’ve just put pesticide in 97 per cent of the places you don’t need it. And these products are very sinister in that regard, and they need to be removed from the market,” Day said.

More than 140 municipalities in Canada have bylaws restricting the use of pesticides, but they do not have the power to enact laws on the sale of the chemicals.

Golf courses and landscaping professionals have asked to be exempt from any restrictions, saying they would put them out of business.

Landscapers predict it will take more time, more staff and therefore more cost to remove weeds by hand in a pesticide-free environment.

“Certain condos would pay for it, certain places wouldn’t,” said Kari Anderson from Hire-A-Husband Landscaping. “The city can’t afford to pay people to pluck a dandelion out of the ground.”
A city committee on environmental policy wants to phase out pesticide use by 2010.

Meanwhile, golf courses say the cost of maintenance and labor would get passed on to their customers.

“Some of the smaller courses have described it as ?EUR??,,????'??? financially devastating,” said Mitch Jacques of the Alberta Golf Industry Association. “I think you’re going to see some of the smaller courses not being able to supply the product people expect so they’re going to lose some of their regular green-fee customers.”