Pest Professionals Present Bed Bug Symposium
With bed bugs still causing havoc in accommodation facilities the Canadian Pest Management Association (CPMA), Canadian Federation of Apartment Associations (CFAA) and National Pest Management Association (NPMA) are partnering to present Canada's first-ever bed bug symposium on March 5 in Ottawa, Ontario at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier. The program is geared toward anyone working in the hotel/motel industry, campus facility maintenance, hospitals, nursing homes, furniture rental companies, government agencies, etc.

Designed to raise awareness and inform anyone working with housing the general public how to deal with the difficult issue of bed bugs, the Bed Bug Symposium will provide management tips, both preventative and corrective, to help attendees make informed decisions and stay out of the newspaper and the courtroom.  

"Bed bugs are an elusive, transient pest," said CPMA President Normand Doiron. "Because of the serious public health concern, we are pleased to offer user communities this educational program designed to provide the necessary information they need to effectively deal with this issue." 
More Information: http://www.pestworldcanada.net/pdfs/EventsPDF/NPMA_NPMA_Canada%202010%20meeting_bed%20bugs_electronic%20version%20005%20electronic%20complete.pdf

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Pesticide Activists accused of using false and misleading information may face criminal charges.

TORONTO _ A group representing dozens of lawn care companies is  calling for charges against 23 activists.   and senior bureaucrats over the province of Ontario controversial pesticide ban.
Group spokesman Jeffrey Lowes of MREP Communications said Wednesday that information has been laid for criminal charges against 23 individuals. The proceedings - 115 charges under Section 504 of the Criminal Code - were filed with a Kingston, Ont.-area court on Tuesday, Lowes said in a release.

A so-called "private information" against Environment Minister John Gerretsen and senior ministry staff was filed Jan. 20, 

The activists worked with the Ontario government to ban pesticides using alleged false and misleading information to undermine the industry, Lowes said. The documents filed on Tuesday allege the activists knowingly presented false and misleading information about the health and environmental risks associated with pesticide products, knowingly misled the public, lawn care industry and government officials, and impeded access to Health Canada approved pesticide products through fraudulent means.

The legal maneuver, if endorsed by the court, could result in federal charges being filed against Gerretsen and others by police or by a private individual, and there may be sufficient grounds for a criminal charge of fraud,
The action stems from Ontario's pesticide regulations, which permit the use of azadirachtin, a chemical that is not approved for use in Canada, Lowes said.

"There's something fundamentally wrong with the whole system," he said. "We would be subjected to federal prosecution if we use the products if we abide by the Ontario laws, and if we abide by the federal laws, we would be prosecuted by the Ontario government."

The government's reclassification of pesticides is based on a methodology that "was not based in regulatory science," he said.  

                                                  A well fed bedbug  ===>

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How Safe Are The Pesticides Available in Canada?
Pesticides are regulated by Health Canada under the Pest Control Products Act, and are among the most stringently regulated substances in Canada. The Pest Management Regulatory Agency is the branch of Health Canada that administers the Act on behalf of the Minister of Health.
Read more about the regulatory process on this Health Canada web page: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pest/index-eng.php