The Pest Control Products Act (PCPA)

Pesticides in Canada are registered under the federal Pest Control Products Act (PCPA). The current act was passed in 1969 and has not been significantly amended since that time. It is completely outdated and inadequate for protecting health and the environment and reducing society's reliance on toxic chemicals.

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), a branch of Health Canada, is responsible for administering the PCPA. Overall, pesticides are the responsibility of the Minister of Health.

Pesticides In Canada

There are approximately 6,000 pesticide products registered for use in Canada. WWF has calculated that at least 50 million kilograms of herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides are used in Canada each year at a reported value of one billion dollars a year. They are used in agriculture, for lawn care, in fish farming, in homes, in day-cares, on golf courses, on pets, and even on children to combat head lice. They are also used widely in industry.

Many pesticides are used for cosmetic purposes. These include pesticides used on lawns and in agriculture to prevent blemishes and other cosmetic imperfections that have no connection with health or taste.

The Problem With Pesticides

Pesticides are designed to kill. They are released deliberately into the environment and onto food. Only about 1% of a pesticide actually reaches its target. The rest is released into the environment, exposing innocent people and wildlife.

Numerous studies, and common-sense, indicate that many of the pesticides registered for use in this country can have harmful effects on living things other than those they are designed to kill.

Some are persistent (meaning they don't break down) and bio-accumulative (meaning they collect in the fatty tissues of living organisms). Many are considered hormone disruptors
(meaning they disrupt hormone function in humans and other mammals) which can undermine reproductive, immune and behavioural fitness, especially affecting the next generation. Other pesticides are acutely toxic (meaning they can cause death upon exposure).

There is no way to avoid widespread contamination from pesticides. The older, persistent pesticides can travel great distances on air currents and are found in every part of the planet, including in mothers' milk around the world. Soluble pesticides can end up in groundwater. The average person is most exposed to pesticides via their food, but farmers and their families have higher occupational exposures. Wildlife are often acutely exposed via their food and in their habitats.

Some populations are especially vulnerable to the effects of toxic pesticides. Arctic people and wildlife are super-exposed to persistent pesticides due to their geography and animal-based diet. Many Inuit children suffer rates of chronic infections 10-15 times higher than children in the south and vaccinations often fail because the child's immune system is so suppressed that the necessary antibodies are not produced.

Children are both more exposed and more vulnerable to pesticides. From conception to sexual maturity, their bodies, sex organs, brains, immune and nervous systems are developing and are sensitive to disruption. Exposure to pesticides before birth can cause serious and irreversible damage. Because they eat more per unit of body weight, and roll around on lawns, dig in the earth, crawl on floors and carpets - all of which may have pesticide residues - they are more exposed than adults.

Birds, friendly bugs such as ladybugs and bees, and other wildlife are often inadvertently killed or seriously harmed by pesticides applied to crops.

Alternatives To Pesticides

There are many effective alternatives to pesticides. Organic farming methods and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) rely on techniques such as crop rotation, pest prevention, companion planting, and soil development.

In fact, many pesticides are losing their effectiveness as the bugs and plants they are designed to eradicate develop resistance. (Already 504 insect and mite species, 150 plant diseases, and 188 weed species have developed resistance.) Farmers still lose about 20 per cent of their crops to weeds and insects, the same proportion as they lost in 1930.