Grand Forks city councillors have delayed adopting a bylaw that would prohibit the use of cosmetic pesticides on private residential or public land.
Exemptions would apply for pest management related to human disease or public health protection, as well as for agricultural purposes.
The bylaw also would not apply to pesticide use in greenhouses, residential areas of farms, fruit and vegetable gardens, fruit trees, or to control invasive or noxious weeds designated by a government agency.
Work on the bylaw began in February 2024, following a delegation that asked council to impose a ban on cosmetic pesticide use.
Council directed staff to develop a draft bylaw in March 2024, which was presented at the Oct. 21, 2024, council meeting before being referred back to the public for feedback.
In November 2024, staff returned to council with the public feedback. Approval of the draft was deferred to January to allow for more consultation.
At the February 2025 meeting, council gave the first two readings of the bylaw and referred it to the province for review.
Provincial officials provided suggestions in June. Staff amended the draft accordingly and presented it to councillors at the Oct. 6 meeting.
Instead of adopting the bylaw, council opted to seek further clarification from the province on the scope of permissible regulation, particularly regarding exemptions for fruit and vegetable gardens or trees.
Coun. Rod Zielinski said he was uncomfortable adopting the bylaw without first presenting the amended version to the community.
“I truly don’t believe that we can pass it with the changes made. Adding invasive and noxious weeds changes the whole intent of the bylaw and that’s not what we went out to the public with. We didn’t ask for the vegetable garden part in there either, so the whole bylaw has been changed in my mind,” he said.
“I think it’s a disservice to the public that we asked for their comments on and that we’re going to pass something that’s totally different.”
CAO Duncan Redfearn said the city is unsure whether it can regulate vegetable gardens, but noted the province recommended they be exempt, which is why the clause was included in the draft.
“They’ve provided information exempting it [vegetable gardens], and when you read it off the provincial legislation it’s very specific to cosmetic purposes and not fruit trees and vegetables. So if you want to pull it back, we can clarify whether we can regulate vegetables – I don’t know if we can.”
Councillors also sought clarification on the exemption covering pesticide use for noxious or invasive weeds.
The province already regulates invasive and noxious plants, and Zielinski raised concerns about the municipality’s jurisdiction over that section.
“Noxious weeds are regulated. There’s a lot of legislation around that. We’re not going to be able to regulate noxious weeds. The province already does that and spheres the jurisdiction.”
Coun. David Mark suggested a resolution seeking provincial clarification on the municipality’s authority to regulate pesticide use, particularly around fruit and vegetable gardens and the treatment of noxious versus invasive weeds.
Staff were directed to identify which provincial recommendations are mandated by legislation and which are advisory, and to return to council with their findings.
Councillors approved the amended motion. Staff will report back at a later date.
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