Should Gatineau, like Montreal, ban pesticides on its golf courses?

In mid-June, the City of Montreal expanded its bylaw on the sale and use of pesticides to include golf courses, a first in Canada. Environmental activists in Gatineau would like to see Quebec’s fourth-largest city follow suit.

In April, the City of Gatineau adopted a bylaw banning glyphosate, a pesticide for aesthetic purposes, on its territory. However, this bylaw stipulates that golf courses are exempt.

Regulation is a step in the right direction, but we must go further and include golf coursespleads the member of Gatineau without pesticides and co-founder of the group Victims of pesticides of Quebec, Monique Bisson.

Ms. Bisson says she feels on the side of the City of Gatineau a desire to push the regulation further and working in collaboration with golf courses.

Follow the example?

Marc Bureau, municipal councillor for the Parc-de-la-Montagne-Saint-Raymond district and president of the Environment and Climate Change Commission for the City of Gatineau, does not rule out the possibility that Gatineau will adopt a by-law similar to that of Montreal.

We will analyze what was done in Montreal. We will be in touch with Montreal, see how they achieved thisinforms Mr. Bureau. Will we be able to do what we did in Montreal? Maybe.

Marc Bureau says he feels a good will to reduce pesticides in Gatineau. I think golf courses are realizing that this is where we need to move now because pesticides are one of the main reasons for biodiversity loss around the world.added the advisor.

In April, the City of Gatineau’s Ecological Transition Service proposed requiring golf courses to achieve Audubon certification by 2027. According to Mr. Bureau, this is a good start.

Lands certified

The general manager of the Tecumseh Golf Club in Gatineau, Hugues Fournier, already says he does not use a lot pesticides, for health and budgetary reasons.

All the people who use or handle pesticides in Quebec golf clubs have had fairly intensive training.also assures Mr. Fournier.

The latter suggests that it intends to become Audubon certified in time for 2027. Maybe this will bring us a new clientele who will say “well, these golf courses are certified, let’s go for it”he hopes.

With information from Nelly Albérola and Alexandra Angers