Submission to the City of Calgary IPM Review Avoiding Pesticide Health Risks in Calgary

CAPE submits that Calgary's current Integrated Pest Management (IPM) plan is insufficient to protect residents from the health risks of toxic pesticides. The organization highlights specific vulnerabilities of children and adults, criticizes the federal PMRA regulatory process, and recommends a corporate ban on routine toxic pesticide use alongside a municipal bylaw for private properties.

• CAPE asserts that Calgary's existing IPM plan fails in practice because toxic pesticides are not used as a last resort. In 2016, 31 of 35 pesticides used by the City, including all 15 herbicides, were classified in the second-highest risk category under Alberta regulations.
• Children are identified as the most vulnerable population to pesticide exposure due to their physical development, behavior, and long life expectancy. Risks include low birth weight, pre-term births, cognitive and motor deficits, endocrine disruption, learning disabilities, birth defects like cleft palate, and childhood cancers such as leukemia and brain cancer.
• Adult exposure to pesticides is associated with an increased risk of several serious health conditions, including diabetes, asthma, obstructive lung disease, Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), Parkinson’s disease, and various cancers such as leukemia, cutaneous melanoma, and non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
• CAPE argues that Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) approval is an insufficient safety guarantee due to reliance on non-peer-reviewed industry studies, a failure to test formulated products (rather than just active ingredients), and significant delays in the mandatory 15-year re-evaluation process.
• The document highlights a specific concern regarding glyphosate, noting that internal Monsanto Company documents revealed in a California court case have raised questions about the evidence used by the PMRA in its 2017 re-evaluation and approval of the herbicide.
• CAPE recommends that the City of Calgary adopt a corporate policy to restrict toxic pesticides in city-managed parks and green spaces and enact a municipal bylaw to restrict non-essential toxic pesticide use on residential and privately owned lawns and gardens.

APA

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (2018). Submission to the City of Calgary IPM Review Avoiding Pesticide Health Risks in Calgary. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CAPE-brief-to-Calgary-IPM-review-December-2018.pdf

Chicago

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Submission to the City of Calgary IPM Review Avoiding Pesticide Health Risks in Calgary. 2018. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CAPE-brief-to-Calgary-IPM-review-December-2018.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |title=Submission to the City of Calgary IPM Review Avoiding Pesticide Health Risks in Calgary |date=19 December 2018 |url=https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CAPE-brief-to-Calgary-IPM-review-December-2018.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianassociationofphysiciansfortheenvironment2018submission, author = {{Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}}, title = {{Submission to the City of Calgary IPM Review Avoiding Pesticide Health Risks in Calgary}}, institution = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2018}, month = dec, url = {https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/CAPE-brief-to-Calgary-IPM-review-December-2018.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }