HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:

Definitions

1  In this Act and Schedule I,

"agriculture" means the production of crops for commercial trade.

"cosmetic" means non-essential, or an item used for the intention of improving or maintaining an esthetic quality.

"minister" means the Minister of Environment or someone designated to act on the Minister of Environment's behalf.

"pesticide" means a micro-organism or material that is represented, sold, used or intended to be used to prevent, destroy, repel or mitigate a pest, and includes

(a) a plant growth regulator, plant defoliator or plant desiccant;

(b) a control product as defined in the Pest Control Products Act (Canada); and

(c) a substance that is classified as a pesticide by regulation.

"sell" includes barter or distribute, offer, expose, advertise or possess for the purpose of selling.

"use" means the placement or application of a pesticide, or the mixing, dilution, or loading of a pesticide for the purpose of placing or applying it.

Purpose

2  The purpose of this Act is to protect the health of British Columbians and the environment by reducing the production, use and sale of toxic and hazardous substances in the province of British Columbia, without adversely affecting the forestry or agriculture industry.

Bylaws are Operative

3  (1) Nothing in this Act affects a municipality's or regional district's power to make bylaws to regulate, restrict, or prohibit the sale or use of pesticides used for a cosmetic purpose.

(2) Where there is a conflict between a provision of this Act and a provision of a municipal or regional district bylaw that regulates, restricts, or prohibits the sale or use of pesticides used for a cosmetic purpose, the more restrictive provision prevails.

Prohibition on Sale, Transfer, and Use

4  (1) No person may sell or transfer a pesticide used for a cosmetic purpose other than a low-risk pesticide prescribed in Schedule I of this Act.

(2) No person may use a pesticide for a cosmetic purpose other than a low-risk pesticide prescribed in Schedule I of this Act.

Excepted Uses

5  (1) Subject to any regulation enacted for the purposes of this section, section 4 does not apply to the following uses:

(a) uses related to agriculture;

(b) uses related to managing pests that impact forestry;

(c) uses related to maintaining golf courses for a period of three years beginning on the day that this Act comes into effect;

(d) uses related to the preservation and promotion of public health and safety.

(2) A person claiming an exception under this section must hold a permit required for that purpose and must comply with the terms and conditions in or attached to that permit.

Permits for Excepted Uses

6  (l) A person applying for a permit must submit to the minister a permit application that

(a) is in the form specified by the minister,

(b) contains the information required by the minister, and

(c) is accompanied by a prescribed fee.

(2) The minister may issue a permit to a person if the minister is satisfied that the permit application is for a use enumerated in Section 5, and complies with Section 6 (1).

(3) The minister may refuse to grant a permit.

(4) the minister issues a permit to a person, the minister must specify the terms and conditions in or attached to the permit, including

(a) name of permit holder,

(b) date on which the permit expires, and

(c) any other conditions the minister considers appropriate in the circumstances.

(5) The minister may revoke a permit at any time.

(6) The minister must disclose a copy of any permit to any person who requests it.

Education

7  The provincial government must develop and execute ongoing public education and awareness-raising programs providing information to the public on

(a) why restrictions exist on the sale and use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes, including health and environmental impacts of use,

(b) sustainable landscape management practices,

(c) authorized active ingredients as prescribed in Schedule I,

(d) and must provide any other ongoing education deemed helpful in fulfilling the purposes of this Act.

Monitoring Act Effectiveness

8  The minister must collect and maintain statistics related to enforcement of this Act, including names of persons found to be in violation of this Act, and semiannually make recommendations to the government for improving the effectiveness of this Act.

Creation and Revision of Schedule I

9  (1) The minister must create Schedule I, which will list authorized low-risk and bio-pesticides.

(2) The minister must establish a multi-stakeholder committee that will, semi-annually

(a) add to Schedule I low-risk pesticides as they emerge on the market or are discovered,

(b) remove from Schedule I of this Act, and item that could contravene the purposes

(c) publicly disclose the names and occupations of the members.

Power to make to regulations

10  (1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations referred to in section 41 of the Interpretation Act.

(2) Without limiting subsection (l), the Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations as follows:

(a) respecting the application, requirements, and use of permits; and

(b) prescribing enforcement powers.

(c) powers to delegate.

Commencement

11  This Act comes into force on the date of Royal Assent.

 
Schedule 1

Authorized Low-Risk Pesticides

Schedule I shall be created from the low-risk pesticides found in the Pest Management Regulatory Agency's most recent Reduced Risk Update, currently RR2008-01. As mentioned in section 10 of the Cosmetic Pesticides and Carcinogen Control Act, the minister or multi-stakeholder committee may add low-risk pesticides to this list. Only the multi-stakeholder committee may remove items from Schedule I.

 
Explanatory Note

This bill will help protect public health, safety and the environment in British Columbia by regulating, restricting and prohibiting the use and sale of pesticides for residential and cosmetic use, and regulating the use of pesticides around children.