Blue Like You

As Brenda Martin is happily tucked away in her cottage at Grand Valley Institution for Women , we can all rest easy knowing that she has her beloved peanut butter and is receiving lots of medical care courtesy of Canadian taxpayers. Brenda’s co-accused Rebecca Roth sure isn’t getting this kind of treatment.

And in case you missed it, a little seven-year-old girl from Montreal was so moved by all the media attention given Brenda Martin, that she felt compelled to write a song, which you can hear here , courtesy of the Edmonton Journal. Kinda gives ya goosebumps, doesn’t it? Or nausea.

So, exactly what was the cost of Brenda’s little mercy flight from Mexico to Kitchener? CBC pegs it at $82,787 .

- And the sounds of silence as Brenda Martin munches on peanut butter cups? - Priceless .

* * * *

Update : Don’t read this post by Dr. Roy if you’re prone to high-blood pressure.

David Akin has some very interesting tidbits to divulge about the Liberal’s ‘Sky is the Limit’ Fundraiser in February.. (H/T National Newswatch )

This information is strictly for the politically-obsessed , but I’ll tell you one thing. I’ll never again be caught sipping a Sleeman’s while reading a Margaret Atwood novel.

Dalton McGuinty seems to have a disconnect problem - between himself and his Environment Minister, and between his pesticide policy and that of scientific reality.

This morning we learn that Dalton may have ‘misspoken’ when he stood alongside Ontario Environment Minister John Gerretsen and bragged that, "nobody will be able to have standards lower than ours."… "If you’re asking if municipalities can exceed the provincial standard we put in place, yes they can when it comes to use."

Except that’s not true. It seems that the fine print of the legislation says otherwise. MPP Tim Hudak (why isn’t he the P.C. leader?) wants some answers:

"The premier either lied to the media or was mistaken and then the minister, who was standing beside him, didn’t correct the record, so he’s guilty of covering up that lie. Then they let it string out there for (more than a week) before correcting the record ," he said.

Hudak said when the House resumes this morning, McGuinty or Gerretsen should explain to MPPs why Ontarians have been misled on an important piece of legislation.

Personally, I don’t want the legislation any stricter than it already is, because it is based on political pandering - not science. In this morning’s Record , Richard Aucoin of Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency writes:

…Only those products that meet Canada’s strict health and safety standards are registered for sale and use.

Furthermore, additional margins of safety are applied to ensure that all Canadians, including infants, children, pregnant women, the elderly, and workers are protected. For example, when evaluating common lawn and garden pesticides, Health Canada’s evaluations include real world scenarios such as children entering treated areas on the day of treatment. The unique physiology, behaviours and play habits of children, such as their body weight and hand-to-mouth contact while playing on treated grass were also considered. We are therefore confident that the pesticides approved for use in Canada, including lawn and garden products, can be used safely when label directions are followed …

But as this excellent editorial in Chatham This Week notes, McGuinty obviously thinks he knows way more than than the scientists:

…Yet McGuinty must know better than Health Canada , which also regulates the pharmaceutical products that are allowed to be sold in Canada, and which just launched a review process that will probably lead to a ban on the chemical bisphenol A, which is used in some plastic bottles and as food liners…

Yeah, the feds just can’t win - either doing too much or too little.

In any case, the overall effect of a cosmetic pesticide ban will have minimal impact on human health, and major impact on the value of a homeowner’s property and the individual’s freedom to maintain their property responsibly. Randall Denley highlights the hypocrisy:

…According to a 2000 federal standing committee report, agricultural use accounts for 91 per cent of all pesticides . Banning only home use will have a limited effect on overall pesticide use, but the premier was quick to inform farmers that the ban won’t apply to them. Actually, it will apply to their farmhouse lawns and their home vegetable gardens, but out in the fields, they can let her rip …

But why should Dalton worry about facts anyway? Ontario voters obviously don’t care.

* * * *

Update : Thanks to Anna K. in comments for a series of links between autism and pesticide use - especially for this one:

…Children who are exposed to agricultural pesticides while developing in the womb are six times more likely to develop autism .

The first eight weeks after conception seem to be the most vulnerable time, and the risk increases dramatically if, during that time, their mothers were living close to farms that had used pesticides, and especially dicifol and endosulfan …

So why not ban pesticides on farms too, Dalton? And golf courses. Water run-off and air don’t stay in one place, you know. Let’s have some consistency.