Warning at Victoria park has cancer survivor leery of region’s pesticide stance
An Oak Bay woman is raising the alarm about herbicide use in a Victoria park.
The situation highlights inconsistency in pesticide rules both within and between municipalities in the capital region.
Judith Kovats, a breast cancer survivor, said she was shocked to see a sign warning of the use of a toxic herbicide at Redfern Park, near the border of Oak Bay. The park is popular with families and dog walkers.
“I was so upset, as a cancer survivor. I wouldn’t want you or your dog to go through that,” Kovats said.
The city still needs to assess the park, but expects to spray Weather MAX, which uses the herbicide glyphosate, also found in Roundup and Sidekick.
Pesticides and herbicides that use synthetic chemicals are not permitted for general use in the municipality, but may be used as a “last resort” with a permit, if the pest is threatening a sensitive environment or posing a significant economic threat.
Some other municipalities also have pesticide regulations and bans on general use, including Saanich, Oak Bay and Esquimalt. However to the chagrin of some environmentalists and health professionals who say pesticides spread easily beyond their targets, others do not.
Beyond the municipal level, the provincial and federal governments have some regulations — but a province-wide ban has never materialized.
As of July, a certificate is required to apply most pesticides to private landscapes, although glyphosate is excluded.
A sign at Redfern Park asks visitors to stay out, warning that Weather MAX is toxic to most mammals, causing sickness in livestock and rare deaths.
Julie Potter, manager of engagement for the city, said the problem at the park is a buttercup-family plant called lesser celandine. It’s an aggressive invasive species that competes with native plants and affects wildlife habitat.
In most cases, the city removes invasive species like blackberry bushes and English ivy by hand, she said.
But when lesser celandine is encountered in areas larger than a metre square, then chemicals are used.
“Using pesticides in our parks is rare,” she said.
“The tricky thing with this is that if we dig it up, it’s quite hard to see all the parts of the plant and if they get disturbed, that causes a lot of problems because it just spreads.”
In areas smaller than one square metre, city workers dig up the plant’s network of roots and tubers, as well as the surrounding soil. The material is bagged, tagged and buried at Hartland Landfill.
City workers haven’t assessed or sprayed Redfern Park. Orange fencing will be erected to cordone off the affected area, if spraying happens, Potter said.
In 2008, Victoria became the first municipality in the capital region to adopt a bylaw regulating pesticide use on public or residential properties. A list of reduced-risk “permitted” pesticides regulated by the province is available on the city’s website.
Coun. Ben Isitt said that while there may be extreme cases where a pesticide is the best option, he’d prefer to make it more difficult to get a permit.
“I think Victoria and other municipalities need to strengthen all of their pesticide bylaws. There’s a lot of support in the public for organic foods and avoiding putting chemicals onto our land,” Isitt said.
Elizabeth Cull, owner of the Dig This gardening store, said there are alternative ways to protect home gardens from pests. Dig This is not licensed to sell chemical pesticides and encourages strategies like using fine netting, plantbased insecticides and insects like ladybugs to fight pests.
“We spend a lot of time talking to people about the least harmful ways to deal with everything from aphids to powdery mildew,” Cull said.