We all now have a little more time to stock up on incandescent light bulbs, since the federal government has decided to defer the ridiculous ban for two years.
Hopefully the government will scrap the ban all together, as the move is unwelcome by many Canadians who have health and environmental concerns about being forced to use compact fluorescent light bulbs.
Energy-efficient requirements for light bulbs, which are part of the energy-efficient regulations, have been deferred by two years — the new date for 75- and 100-watt light bulbs is Jan. 1, 2014 (instead of Jan. 1, 2012) and the new date for 60- and 40-watt bulbs is Dec. 31, 2014 (instead of Dec. 31, 2012).
While we believe the federal government should re-think the light-bulb ban, we do welcome a possible provincial ban on a different product — cosmetic pesticides.
Earlier this month, NDP leader Adrian Dix proposed legislation to ban cosmetic pesticides in B.C.
Premier Christy Clark says she supports the ban and wants to work with the Opposition to restrict them.
Pesticides can cause a risk (a very unnecessary one) to our health, the environment, and wildlife.
The Ontario College of Family Physicians found there are “consistent links to serious illnesses, such as cancer, reproductive problems, and neurological diseases, among others” and recommends people reduce their exposure to pesticides whenever possible.
The college also found that children have an overall increased risk of acute leukemia if exposed to pesticides, and several of the college’s studies implicate pesticides as a cause of hematologic tumours in children, including non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and leukemia.
If Clark does support a cosmetic pesticide ban, then she must know how harmful these poisons can be and will follow through on her “families-first” agenda by banning cosmetic pesticides for the sake of our health and our children’s health.
Then hopefully the federal government will follow suit and ban the killer chemicals across the country.