Municipal Activism: Momentary or the Beginning of a Trend?

Farm & Countryside Commentary by Elbert van Donkersgoed
Corner Post #386

Municipal powers to protect the environment and to adopt bylaws that promote the health, safety and well-being of their citizens were confirmed last month. The Ontario Court of Appeal unanimously upheld the Toronto bylaw banning the use of pesticides for cosmetic or non-essential purposes.

To understand this court case as just another legal wrangle would ignore the underlying precedents.

Can municipalities pass laws where federal and provincial governments have already created numerous rules? The Court said "yes," and blessed a tri-level regulatory regime for pesticides. Federal rules control the manufacturing of pesticides. Provinces license vendors and applicators. Municipalities control land use. The notion that one level of government, once it has set down some rules then "occupies the field," is gone. Judges are restraining their ability to intervene. Only if municipal rules get in the road of federal or provincial legislation will they limit municipal action.

Can municipal powers be interpreted broadly and generously? The Court was quite frank in noting that a shift has taken place in the past two decades. Court decisions once limited municipal law-making to the specifics delegated by provincial legislatures. Since 1990 the Courts have shown a new respect for locally elected officials. They are paying attention to the vitality of local democracy, and have become cautious about substituting their views of what is best for citizens for those of elected councils. Councillors responding to the perceived wishes of the people they represent is acceptable, as long as there is no clear demonstration that municipalities are reaching beyond their delegated powers.

The Court also observes that the provinces have made their laws more flexible. Specifically, the Court regards Ontario's Municipal Act, 2001 as more generous to municipalities.

Are cosmetic pesticide bylaws, like Toronto's, a fleeting example of municipal activism for the health, safety and well-being of its citizens, or the beginning of a trend? Will Toronto councillors refocus on fixing potholes and debating alternatives for their waterfront? This question is not a matter for the courts but it does matter, to farming and the food chain.

Municipal activism for the health, safety and well-being of citizens suggests more than a shift in court interpretations. Much of our experience has gone global. Science, technology and investments recognize few boundaries. But the quality of the local environment and the opportunity for well-being are primarily local. Globalization and localization go hand in hand. Farming and the food chain have gone global. To be comfortable functioning in the global economy we need the security of local communities that are healthy, safe and environmentally sustainable. Municipalities will be at the forefront of developing the security that comes from local food.

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Elbert van Donkersgoed P. Ag. (Hon.) is the Strategic Policy Advisor of the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario, Canada. Corner Post is heard weekly on CFCO Radio, Chatham and CKNX Radio, Wingham, Ontario. Corner Post has a complimentary email subscriber list of more than 3,500 and appears regularly on Agriculture Online/Views at www.agriculture.com/ag/views/ and as "Letter from Ontario" on The New Farm website at www.newfarm.org. CFFO is supported by 4,300 family farmers across Ontario. Corner Post is archived on the CFFOwebsite.