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Health Canada consults to better support you (part 1)

Health Canada consults to better support you  (part 1)

Health Canada is on tour to meet with rental property owners associations in order to discuss issues related to pest management. Indeed, Health Canada has a role to play regarding the use of pesticides to control pests. The Department ensures that they are used properly.

Contribution of owners

By virtue of their decision-making authority with respect to the resolution of current pest problems, owners have a great role to play in preventing or at least reducing the citizens’ exposure to pesticides.

The active participation of owners associations is important to ensure that Health Canada understands the challenges faced by the industry, improves its communications and provides adequate support to prevent the misuse of pesticides.

Active prevention program for the rental housing industry


The meetings that took place in the summer of 2010 constituted the first of three stages of this program, namely: 1) baseline information gathering, 2) information delivery and 3) feedback.

Step 1: Baseline information gathering (Summer 2010)
A short questionnaire submitted to representatives of various participating organizations and associations allowed Health Canada to collect information that will help develop material and strategies promoting compliance with pesticides.

Questions to associations and organizations were designed to determine:
baseline knowledge on the legislation governing pesticide use and pest control practices in and around apartment buildings;
trends of problems experienced with pest and pest control methods;
• level of participation of associations in the resolution of pest management problems encountered by the members;
• decisions and trends regarding the choice of the applicator (professional versus non-professional) and products used;
• level of communication with members: the type , frequency, content and fields of interest;

Health Canada is currently analyzing the information gathered.

Step 2: Information delivery
The second step is to prepare and carry out communications based on information and gaps identified in step 1 and using mechanisms preferred by the associations. This will be an opportunity to provide the associations with information on the legislation governing the use of pesticides, the proper use of registered products, the importance of following the guidelines listed on product labels, pesticide incident reporting and other topics.

Step 3: Feedback
The third step is to re-contact the participating associations to verify and quantify the impact of Health Canada’s program and the changes the industry has made as a result of communications from step 2. Associations may use this opportunity to express their overall appreciation of the program, the choice of topics, the methodology and the benefits to their members.

In short, Health Canada hopes to reach the owners so that they contribute to reducing health risks associated with pesticide use.

About the author

Bruno Sauvé

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