Ontario Pesticide Act prosecutions have become infrequent since the Ministry of the Environment stopped having specialized pesticide enforcement staff. It’s hard to know how much actual offences have decreased. The ban on cosmetic uses of pesticides may have helped, and pesticide operator training has improved. But surely there must still be some offences taking place…
We therefore notice when the Ministry of the Environment announces a pesticide prosecution and conviction. This time, a Guelph company was fined $4,000, plus a suspended sentence for spraying illegal pesticides on a lawn, contrary to the Pesticides Act. The owner of the company was convicted of the same two offences and received a suspended sentence.
The Ministry says:
“Anthony G. Giammichele is the owner of Big Green Property Services Ltd., a maintenance company operating in both Guelph and Hamilton.
A provincial officer of the ministry noticed an individual carrying a backpack sprayer in the grassy area beside a store in Guelph. The individual then loaded the equipment into a pick-up truck marked Big Green Property Services Ltd. and departed. The officer made note of the vehicle and forwarded the details to the Regional Pesticide Specialist for information.
The officer noticed the same truck and person spraying a lawn of a store in the parking lot area of the same plaza. The officer approached the person and discovered that they were not licensed. It was revealed that the individual was using a Par III Class 4 pesticide on land contrary to the Act and also had the pesticide Roundup Transorb in the back of his truck. These Class 4 pesticides are banned for use on land for cosmetic purposes in Ontario.”