After hearing from Paul Lacelle representing the Lanark County beekeepers, a local conventional farmer, Dr. Paula Stewart and Dr. Meg Sears, Mississippi Mills Council voted to leave most of the roads unsprayed and will do any necessary spraying with Clearview where the wild parsnip is affecting agricultural lands. Opt out options for organic farmers were not discussed. It was evident that many of the councillors had considered the many emails that had been sent to them and asked sensible questions. One question did hit the mark and that was asked by Councillor Wilkinson. She asked the Chief Medical officer why they should consider spraying a herbicide onto ditches if Clearview is not supposed to be applied near water. Thank you Councillor! We also heard from Dr. Stewart that if the herbicide did get into our wells, it would only be a “tiny, tiny bit”.
See Dr. Sears’s presentation here.