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The protest has brought more attention to this matter, now we need your help. Please telephone and write to your MLAs urging them to pass Bill 1 which contains the legislation needed. We need people from all across NS to do this, not just people from the HRM area, since all NS MLAs will vote on this bill. Please urge them to ensure this Bill 1 gets passed during this sitting of the Legislature. It has been put off far too long. Thanks, David Wimberly _________________________________________________________________ Saturday, June 20, 1998 Protesters bug premier about pesticide dangers By DAVID RODENHISER -- The Daily News Pesticide protesters pestered the premier yesterday. The Raging Grannies sang, and 40 placard carriers chanted outside Province House, demanding the Grit government pass amendments to the Halifax Regional Municipality Act to empower the city to restrict pesticide use. The specific amendment is one of a number of changes suggested in a bill tabled by Halifax-Chebucto NDP MLA Howard Epstein last month. The bill would restore powers the four old municipalities lost through the wording of the amalgamation legislation. Many of the protesters carried fake lawn-care company signs, which read: "No pesticides: I love my family and the environment more than my lawn.'' The signs were on sale for $5 apiece. Using a public-address system, demonstrators decried lawn-care chemicals, and questioned why the Liberals are again sitting on the proposed amendments. Last year, Jay Abbass, then the Liberal MLA for Halifax-Chebucto, tabled the same bill, but it died on the order paper. Premier Russell MacLellan stepped outside to try to pacify the crowd. In the past, he has been able to defuse angry mobs of trade unionists, injured workers and jail guards. But yesterday his unfocused comments failed miserably with a crowd composed mainly of women. "I know you're concerned on this question,'' MacLellan offered. "We have to, of course, consult with the province. We have to find out how we're going to work on this. "I can't make any promises as to any timeframe, other than to tell you the environment is a concern of mine - the whole question - and that we will be looking into it.'' A man yelled from the crowd: "You're a hypocrite!'' Replied the premier: "Well, that could be. That's the way she goes.'' He said he wouldn't negotiate government business on the steps of the legislature, then retreated inside. Maureen Reynolds, director of RATE (Real Alternatives to Toxins in the Environment), said she wonders what "hidden agenda'' prevents MacLellan from bringing the bill forward. Reynolds has severe chemical sensitivities that require her to leave her home for days when her neighbors have their lawns sprayed. "I've been left with chemical epilepsy where I shake and fall to the ground when I encounter any other chemicals,'' Reynolds said. She also blames pesticides for a host of health problems. Reynolds and other protesters argued lawn-care companies use chemicals linked to various forms of cancer. They said contractors spray chemicals on residential lawns that farmers avoid using near watercourses, because of the danger they pose. Another RATE member, Connie Eaton, said lawn-care chemicals killed her dog. After a neighbor's lawn was sprayed, Eaton says her dog gradually lost the use of its legs. "By the end of the day, he couldn't stand up .... After two days he had to be euthanized,'' Eaton said. "If pesticides are affecting our dogs, we can be sure they're going to be affecting our children and our older people, like myself." _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________
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