Environment Minister André Boisclair will not back down on his proposed ban of 28 pesticides despite a threat from the giant U.S. pesticide industry of legal action against Quebec under Chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

"I am not surprised to hear that kind of reaction," the minister said yesterday. "If there is a parallel, it is with what happened with the tobacco producers the day the government decided to adopt restrictive legislation."

On Thursday, Donald Page, executive director of the Industry Task Force II on 2,4-D Research, a body funded by the four North American manufacturers of the weedkiller 2,4-D - Dow AgroSciences, BASF, Nufarm Inc. and Agro-Gor S.A. - said the industry would sue under Chapter 11 of NAFTA if Boisclair insists on adopting the ban.

Boisclair unveiled regulations on Wednesday that will become law on Sept. 3, 60 days after consultations, imposing fines up to $30,000 for the use of the listed pesticides after three years.

The government and public-sector bodies, such as school commissions, hospitals and daycare centres, will stop using the products right away.

In the first year, mixtures of pesticides and herbicides would be banned. In year two, the listed products would be removed from garden-supply shelves.

Page said Quebec must prove 2,4-D is a cancer-causing product, arguing that it has not been shown to be a carcinogen.

Onil Samuel, science adviser to Quebec's Institut National de Santé Publique, acknowledged yesterday that the proof isn't definitive but said: "There is considerable evidence that it could be."

Boisclair said the pesticide industry is following the tactics of the tobacco industry, which funded research for years suggesting that the link between lung cancer and cigarettes had not been proven.

The task force Page heads is conducting a $30-million (U.S.) research program to show that 2,4-D is safe.

"I maintain that it is completely legal for us to make the decisions we have made," the minister said.

"We have made the right decision and I think Quebecers will not be surprised to see certain companies react."

Boisclair is undeterred by the Chapter 11 process, which allows private companies to sue governments. "I am convinced that public opinion will prevail and that the law we are using justifies making this decision," he said.

Crompton Corp., the American company that makes lindane - another product Boisclair intends to ban - has notified the Canadian government it will seek $100 million U.S. in damages under Chapter 11 because Canada has banned lindane, described by the Pesticide Action Network of North America as a POP, or persistent organic pollutant, that can cause dizziness, seizures, nervous system damage, immune system damage and possibly cancer.

Angela Rickman of the Sierra Club of Canada said pesticide makers are trying to use Chapter 11 for its "possible chill effect."

"They (Quebec) don't have to prove (2,4-D) is a carcinogen," she said, noting there is evidence that 2,4-D can affect the endocrine and nervous systems of children.

She praised Boisclair for standing up to the pesticide industry and said in the end public opinion against pesticides will prevail.

- Kevin Dougherty's E-mail address is kdougherty@thegazette.southam.ca.