Ordinary citizens sign anti-pesticide letter to Council

Editor’s Note:

The following letter was sent to The Current on the evening of Wednesday, June 30. It was also sent to City Council and, according to signatory Susan Knight, constitutes a kind of petition in that it was independently signed by 69 of 74 ordinary citizens who were asked if they would support it.

What makes this letter interesting is the fact that the people who originated it are not affiliated with any of the environmental organizations in the city. Here is the letter as it was sent to The Current:

There is no doubt that many residents of Revelstoke are against the use of cosmetic pesticides. We talked to a lot of people in town who are in favour of City Council passing a bylaw that bans cosmetic pesticides — more than seventy people signed the letter below. We voice our opinion not as a part of any organized group but as citizens of Revelstoke. People wanting to ban pesticides come from all demographics.

We are people who live, work and play in Revelstoke. We are librarians, teachers, consultants, doctors, nurses, welders, retirees, business owners, managers, carpenters, artists, childcare workers, forestry workers, stay-at-home moms…

Many cities across B.C. and Canada have already banned cosmetic pesticides in their communities; we can’t be the first but let’s not be the last. The Mayor and Council have made some good decisions over the past few years; we hope they also make the right decision on this issue and adopt a bylaw that bans cosmetic pesticides in our city.

June 23, 2010

Dear Mayor and Council:

Thank you for putting a stop to the use of cosmetic pesticides on our public lands earlier this year. It was a good decision for our community and one that we would like to see continued. We support the adoption of a bylaw that bans the use cosmetic pesticides in Revelstoke.

Research indicates that we should all be concerned about the consequences of adding more toxins to our environment. Pesticides are not only linked to cancer but also have been shown to disrupt the endocrine system of animals, including humans, leading to birth abnormalities and low fertility (particularly in males).

The safety of our children and families needs to come before the profits of chemical companies.

Thank you,

Susan Knight and Corin Flood
Revelstoke