All Politics Are Local

There is no doubt that within the next five years British Columbia will have new pesticide legislation.  The NDP has introduced Bill M 203 before the legislature.  Liberal Premier Christy Clark has indicated she supports a cosmetic pesticide ban.   A crystal ball is not needed to see that changes are coming. 

I was thinking about changes to BC pesticide legislation as I was attending our Kootenay Chapter meeting of the British Columbia Golf Course Superintendent’s Association (BCGSA).  This meeting was a joint meeting with the Western Canadian Turfgrass Association (WCTA).  It was also the WCTA Traveling Annual Road Show which provided members with a chance to earn continuing education credits for  pesticide licenses and to meet with fellow turf managers.  Amanda Brown, a Regional Pesticide Officer from the Pesticide Management Regulatory Association (PMRA), spoke to the chapter about the PMRA’s evaluation process for pesticides and how the PMRA enforce their rules.

Jerry Rousseau WCTA Exec Director and Amanda Brown PMRA speak to BCGSA Kootenay Chapter

The discussion of pesticide issues was a prolific topic during the meeting and during the question and answer period with Amanda.   The fact that the Regional District of East Kootenay (RDEK) had written a letter of support regarding Bill M 203 was also a source of frustration for all local superintendents.   It was surprising to many members that the RDEK would support legislation that would severely impact the business of golf and the spin-offs that the golf industry provides.   The proposed legislation that the RDEK supports would only allow pesticide usage on putting greens for five year. 

As the discussion about pesticide related issues went on I was asking myself questions.  Why would a local government support such legislation?  Have I done enough to put forward my side of the issue?

Conference and Trade Show

Just returned from the Canadian Golf Course Superintendent (CGSA)/Western Canadian Turfgrass Association (WCTA) Annual Conference and Trade-show.   After three days of education, networking, and trade show participation it is  back to work today.   Snow removal and grooming will be the first thing on the agenda as there has been another twenty cm of snow over the past 24 hours.

While traveling home, I reflected on some of the things I learned, some of the products that may be beneficial to Greywolf, and some of the lessons I learned by networking with my colleagues.

There were numerous educational opportunities over the past three days.  On several occasions I found I wanted to attend more than one session.   The CGSA and WCTA did an excellent job of providing a wide variety of educational opportunities and topics.

Off to Vancouver

Over the next three days I will be attending the Canadian Golf Course Superintendent’s Association (CGSA) Annual Conference and Trade-Show in Vancouver.   Many of you may think this is an opportunity to get out of the snow and the cold weather ( it was -32 ^oC on February 24^th and Panorama has received 21 cm of new snow in the past seven days).  I must admit this is a nice advantage of having the conference in Vancouver. 

But the main reason for attending the conference is the opportunities it holds for myself and my fellow turf managers.   These opportunities include continuing education, networking, and investigating new products.  Another opportunity for turf professionals is achieving points and credits for our pesticide applicator’s licenses and Integrated Pest Management programs.