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More pesticide changes for Ontario retailers

February 17, 2011  By Amanda Ryder


NEWS HIGHLIGHT

More pesticide changes for Ontario retailers

The Ontario Pesticides Advisory Committee (OPAC) is bringing
in new pesticide changes that will affect Ontario garden centres beginning on
April 22, 2011.

Feb. 17, 2011 – The Ontario Pesticides Advisory Committee is bringing in new
pesticide changes that will affect Ontario garden centres beginning on April
22, 2011.

Under this new legislation, only Class 6 pesticide products
in Ontario can be openly sold and displayed on shelves. These products are
classified as those that don’t have any outdoor uses with the exception of
products used for health and safety (ie. mosquito repellant, wasp and hornet
sprays). Class 6 products are the least hazardous domestic pesticides that can
be used by homeowners and include biopesticides and certain lower risk
pesticides. All are registered with Health Canada for domestic use only.

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Garden centres need to be aware that many products they sell have dual uses and can be used indoor and indoor.
Most products with dual use claims that carry a domestic registration with
Health Canada are now Class 7 products. As of April 22, 2011, these products
must be placed in a cage, behind glass or under the counter.
When these products are sold to a consumer, the consumer
must be given a Vendor Notification Form. The form lets consumers know that
they have purchased a controlled sale pesticide and states that “Certain uses
of this pesticide to control weeds or insects outdoors, such as on your lawn or
garden are prohibited.” You can download the form or find out more about it by visiting the Ministry of Environment’s website
here.  

In advance of these changes, pesticide companies like Doktor
Doom have made proactive changes to their products to help garden centres comply
with these new rules. One example is changing dual use products to indoor-only products, which allows retailers to sell them as Class 6 and stock them openly on retail shelves. “We’ve been proactive with respect to this and have tried
our best to educate the retailers about this. We have gone through all the
hoops with OPAC and Health Canada and
created a very expansive line of Class 6 products for retailers to make
marketing easy and comply with the law easy,” says Grigg Kellock of Doktor
Doom.

As more information becomes available, Canadian Garden
Centre & Nursery
magazine will keep you updated both online and in the
magazine.

Online resources:

Ontario Pesticide Advisory Council

Important Information for Vendors Selling Pesticides

Pesticide Classes and Database

Ontario’s Cosmetic Pesticides Ban: What Unlicensed Vendors
Need to Know


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