The board of Stop Spraying New Brunswick welcomes the decision by the provincial government to ban the spraying of glyphosate in the watershed that feeds Greater Moncton.
Moncton’s watershed was the most heavily spayed in 2017.
SSNB board member Don Bowser credits the leadership of Moncton council and Mayor Dawn Arnold.
“This small step forward shows the value of local leadership like Dawn’s. We can stop spraying one community at a time,” said Bowser.
Yet the announcement spraying will not take place in the Turtle Creek watershed this year begs some questions.
Why has the government refused to heed the will of other communities that have have made similar calls to end spraying? And then there’s the 35,000 people who signed a petition asking for a ban of spraying, a demand the government flatly ignored.
So far, three political parties have vowed to ban the use of glyphosate, which would save the taxpayer $2.4 million in annual subsidies to forestry companies participating in the spraying program. SSNB is encouraging voters to vote to end spraying in the next election – not just for Moncton, but for the whole province.