Wednesday, October 26, 2005

Canada lawn care — a world of hurt

Lawmakers in Ottawa, the capital city of Canada, were supposed to vote on a bylaw to ban the use of lawn care chemicals. There are more than 1 million people in metro Ottawa. I couldn't find the results of the vote online tonight but the lawn care folks that do business in and around the city (and just about everywhere else in Canada) can't be very happy with what's going on there. The latest tally shows more than 70 town and cities in Canada that have passed regulations that prohibit or severely restrict the use of lawn care chemicals, mostly aimed at professional applicators. These include some of Canada's biggest cities, such as Toronto, Vancouver and Halifax. Now I hear that Victoria, the provincial capital of British Columbia, is getting on the anti-lawn care band wagon.

The people that have been attacking the Canadian lawn care industry are well funded, organized and motivated. You can bet they'll be beating the anti-pesticide drum loader and loader. U.S. lawn care, get ready. Agriculture, get ready. Here they come. — Ron Hall

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