P.E.I. pesticide rules still apply, reminds province

Just days after Stratford passed a bylaw banning cosmetic pesticides, P.E.I.'s Environment Department is reminding Islanders there are still provincial rules around pesticide use.

Stratford's bylaw, which takes effect Jan. 1, bans certain commercial pesticides that only lawn-care companies are licensed to use.

Erin Taylor, manager of the province's pesticide regulatory program, says the Pesticide Control Act includes a long list of banned pesticide products that Island stores aren't allowed to sell.

"In 2010, we made some pretty big changes to those regulations that meant that people could only buy products in small containers, stuff that was already mixed," she said.

"We consider them to be lower-risk products."

Provincial inspectors check in on stores to ensure they're only selling what is allowed, says Taylor.

Robert Gallant, owner of Atlantic Graduate Lawn Care, says the products sold in stores aren't as effective as those he will soon need to stop using in Stratford. He worries residents will be looking outside the province to find ones that do.

"The homeowner will now have to take it into their own hands, whether they purchase product over the internet or whether they purchase products from other provinces or states," he said.

But Taylor says it won't be that easy for homeowners to do.

"New Brunswick rules are essentially similar as ours. Nova Scotia's have more stringency to them," she said.

"If there are products coming from outside the country, that becomes an issue at the federal level. So they work with agencies like the Canadian Border Service to ensure that products coming across the border comply with their federal regulations."

No other P.E.I. communities have passed a cosmetic pesticide bylaw.