Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

130 Spadina Avenue, Suite 3 0 1 Toronto,ON M5V 2L4

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Tel : 4 16-3 06 -2273 Fax : 416-960-93 9 2 w w w ca De. ca

July 11, 2007

Councillor Leonore Foster, Chair

Environment, Infrastructure, and Transportation Committee
City of Kingston
City Hall
Kingston, Ontario

Dear Councillor Foster,

On behalf of our 2,000 members, The Canadian Association of Physicians

for the Environment is writing to urge the City of Kingston to pass a
strong pesticide bylaw.

This bylaw would prohibit the use of non-essential pesticides on lawns

and gardens. Over 125 communities across Canada -- including Halifax,
Montreal, Toronto, and London -- have now passed pesticide bylaws to
protect children’s health, drinking water, and the natural environment.

As a national organization of medical doctors, we wish to emphasize that

recent scientific studies have shown very worrying connections between
pesticide use and cancer, neurological illness, and birth defects. We are
especially concerned about t h e detrimental effects of pesticides o n
children.

We could cite many studies but draw your attention to research published
in April, 2006 by the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS), Canada’s most
distinguished authority on children’s health. The CPS examined t h e most
common lawn pesticide in Canada, 2,4-D, and concluded that “2,4-D can
be persuasively linked to cancers, neurological impairment and
repro duct ive problems .”

Because of these concerns, t h e most respected medical authorities in

Canada - including The Canadian Cancer Society, The Ontario Medical
Association (Section on Pediatrics), T h e Ontario College of Family
Physicians, and The Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario - support
bylaws which prohibit cosmetic pesticide use.

W e urge Kingston t o follow t h e lead of doctors, nurses, and cancer

authorities and bring in a pesticide bylaw at the earliest opportunity.

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 anadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

More precisely, we urge the city t o model its bylaw on t h e one passed in
Peterborough, Ontario. T h e Peterborough bylaw is protective of human
health, simple to understand, and easily enforced. Because it wisely
excludes a so-called “infestation clause”, it avoids many of the
administrative headaches and financial costs that t h e City of Toronto
encountered with the infestation clause in its pesticide bylaw.

Finally, as a physicians’ organization, we would be very happy to assist

with any aspect of your bylaw’s implementation and delighted to
collaborate with your staff in developing the public education materials
that are so important in making this bylaw work.

Thank you very much for considering the contents of this letter.

Yours,

Dr. Kapil Khatter

President