Sheridan ready to grant new powers to municipalities

Minister says he will table amendments this fall on cosmetic pesticides legislation

It appears that municipalities will be getting power from the province to ban cosmetic pesticides.

Finance Minister Wes Sheridan told The Guardian that he will table legislative amendments in the upcoming fall session.

“We’ve had a request from a number of municipalities (asking) for the authority to be able to move on cosmetic pesticides in their jurisdiction,’’ Sheridan said. “Anyone that has (a) municipal government and has the ability to put bylaws in place would be able to make that decision on their own and, therefore, enforce it themselves.’’

City council in Charlottetown recently passed a resolution asking the provincial government for the authority to do what Sheridan is talking about. Stratford and Cornwall are also looking for movement on the issue but some councillors feel it’s the province that should be taking the reins here, not municipalities.

Sheridan, the minister responsible for municipalities, said he also received two written requests from members of the Federation of P.E.I. Municipalities executive asking that government empower municipalities with the authority to control the products.

“They are the order of government closest to Islanders and if their constituents are calling for this change then they must have a good pulse on what is going on in their communities.’’

The provincial government did act on cosmetic pesticides in 2010 but some feel it went far enough. The Department of Environment banned just one type of pesticide, 2, 4-D.

“We put a number of restrictions in place and we’re quite comfortable with where they are today but the individual municipalities, some of them through resolutions of council, have decided that they would like to go a little bit further.’’

The issue of cosmetic pesticides has come up in the municipal election races with the three mayoral candidates in Charlottetown in agreement that the time has come to ban the products.

However, Sheridan says that if municipalities choose to enact bylaws banning them they will be responsible for enforcement.

In past interviews with The Guardian, companies that use cosmetic pesticides have argued that they are regulated by Health Canada and that their products are safe.