Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett is part of legislative committee considering a provincial ban on cosmetic pesticides.

The Special Committee on Cosmetic Pesticides is made up of five Liberal MLAs and three NDP MLAs and it met for the first time on Wednesday, July 6 in Vancouver.

"Our first meeting was organisational in nature," Bennett told The Townsman.

"We decided that the first thing we ought to do is get a briefing from the provincial Ministry of Environment because they have done lots of work over the years on pesticides and they have policy papers and experience. Secondly, we should get a briefing from Health Canada which has the ultimate regulatory authority over what pesticides are legal in Canada and which ones aren't."

The committee, chaired by Vancouver-Fairview MLA Dr. Margaret MacDiarmid, was created by Premier Christy Clark to follow a campaign promise.

"When we had our leadership contest in the B.C. Liberal party, Christy Clark made a statement during the campaign that she thought we should consider banning some of these substances," said Bennett. "She is essentially following up on her commitment to have a close look at this."

Pesticides is a cover-all word to describe insecticides, fungicides and herbicides.

"I think, frankly, what we are going to be told is that Health Canada and the provincial Ministry of Environment approves the use of the pesticides in question," said Bennett.

Many municipalities in B.C. have already enacted a cosmetic pesticide ban, but Cranbrook is not of them.

Several environmental groups, such as the David Suzuki Foundation, and health groups, including the Canadian Cancer Society, are in favour of a ban on cosmetic pesticides because of health concerns.

"The public is being driven to a view that we need to ban these substances," said Bennett. "The B.C. Cancer Society is saying there are links to childhood cancer, there are other environmental groups that are saying we should ban these substances. So there is a lot of concern publicly. But I think the scientists are saying that as long as the substances are used properly they are safe.

"So the committee has a very difficult job in gathering the science together and trying to make a judgement about whether there is the kind of appropriate scientific evidence to further regulate what has been called cosmetic pesticides," he said.

The committee will meet again within the next two months.