Some 500 small white flags symbolically dotted part of Bernard-Landry Park in Laval, Que., on Saturday morning to call on elected officials and municipal candidates in the next elections to ban the aesthetic use of pesticides on their territory.
The OMG Vigilance initiative also aimed to congratulate the City of Laval. This spring, it became the first municipality in Quebec to have banned the use of glyphosate and neonicotinoid-based pesticides on residential lawns and parks.
Vigilance OGM wants other municipalities to follow suit to prevent the population from being unnecessarily exposed to such harmful products.
“If Laval did it, we can do it in all the other municipalities in Quebec. Laval is dealing with the same issues. There is no real reason not to move forward,” said Laure Mabileau form the Glyphosate Out campaign from OGM Vigilance to The Canadian Press.
The installation of small white flags evokes those used to indicate that pesticides have just been sprayed on a site. “This is to remind us of the height of our exposure to pesticides,” explained Mabileau.