The Minister of Sustainable Development, Environment and the Fight against Climate Change, David Heurtel, today unveils the Québec Pesticide Strategy 2015-2018, which sets out the major directions and goals that will guide government action to protect public health, pollinators and the environment in the coming years.

For the occasion, the minister was accompanied by his parliamentary assistant and MNA for Maskinongé, Marc H. Plante, by Dr. François Reeves–interventional cardiologist at the CHUM, Associate Professor of Medicine at the Université de Montréal, member of the MDDELCC’s Advisory Committee on Climate Change, member of the Université de Montréal’s Institut de l’environnement, du développement durable et de l’économie circulaire (EDDEC), member of the Cercle scientifique David Suzuki and director of the Comité Santé environnement de Médecins francophones du Canada–as well as Équiterre co-founder and Executive Director Sidney Ribaux.

“Québec has made progress in recent years with respect to responsible pesticide management. However, the time is right to intensify our efforts and become even more proficient at reducing the risks to health and the environment that are associated with pesticide use, particularly by supervising the use of highest-risk pesticides like neonicotinoids, which have a recognized major effect on bee mortality,” stated Minister Heurtel.

The Strategy also aims at reducing the use of pesticides and, in cases where this cannot be avoided, favouring pesticides that present the lowest risk to health and the environment, particularly in urban and agricultural settings.

“By tightening the conditions under which the highest-risk pesticides can be used in agricultural environments, the Québec Pesticide Strategy 2015-2018 will offer greater protection to public health, but also to the health of farmers, who are the main users of these products,” opined the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Pierre Paradis.

The changes proposed by the Strategy will be subject to partner consultations that will clarify and improve the future legislative and regulatory amendments. “Mobilizing our partners across all regions of Québec is a vital part of implementing the Strategy and the various actions that stem from it. The changes will be adapted to the needs of different clienteles and bring about improvements in pesticide practices, thus mitigating their consequences,” stressed MNA Plante.

In the opinion of Équiterre co-founder and Executive Director Sidney Ribaux, “With this pioneering strategy, Québec becomes the first jurisdiction in North America to restrict the use of the pesticide atrazine, which has been banned in Europe for more than 10 years. We salute the approach favoured by the government.”