Canada Nova Scotia to ban some pesticides

The government of Nova Scotia plans to introduce legislation Tuesday that will ban the sale of some pesticides, CBC News has learned.

The Halifax Regional Municipality banned the use of pesticides in 2003 but doesnt have the authority to prohibit their sale.

The new legislation, which will be announced tomorrow but wont come into effect until next year, will ban the sale of non-essential pesticides province-wide.

These are defined as cosmetic pesticides used for weed and pest control in lawn and turf maintenance.

The province said the ban would not extend to pesticides used to control pests that can harm human health, such as rodents or micro-organisms in swimming pools. Pesticides used in vegetable gardens would also not be covered by the ban.

The government said it received hundreds of responses during recent public consultations on the pesticide issue and found that about 80 per cent of respondents favoured a ban on cosmetic pesticides.

Lawn-care professionals told CBC News they also support the ban and are interested to see exactly which products will be deemed acceptable.