Canada’s Supreme Court Says NO to Pesticides

The Supreme Court of Canada has thrown out a case that would have challenged the right of municipalities to ban pesticides in their communities.

A pesticide producer tried to challenge legislation passed in Toronto that banned the use of pesticides. This is a major step in Canada since the issue of spraying nature with chemicals as been for the most part ignored. The court’s decision means that wary municipalities can now ban pesticides without fear of a lawsuit.

Chinese-Canadians Get Payback

Back in 1885, the Canadian government put a $500 headtax on Chinese immigrants entering the country (an amount equivalent to 2 years’ salary), after workers were no longer needed for the railway. This was later replaced with a ban of Chinese immigrants altogether, which wasn’t fully repealed until 1967.

However, the Canadian government has now agreed to compensate descendents of these immigrants.