Make friends with your dandelions, folks, because if the province is finally brave enough to pass legislation banning the use and sale of pesticides for cosmetic purposes, you are going to start seeing a lot more of those little yellow flowers.

One of our own past councils entertained the idea a few years ago, but it opened such a huge can of worms among the chemical companies and residents in our community who value a green, lush lawn – as artificial as that might look to the rest of us – that it became a political football.

When an editorial in this newspaper came out in support of a pesticide bylaw, it immediately received a letter smelling of litigation from a chemical lobby group in the United States.

These are interesting times we’re living in; people are willing to spend large amounts of money to shut anyone with a deferring opinion down, hoping to intimidate those without deep pockets.

Thankfully, perseverance paid off and one by one municipalities began passing such bylaws while associations such as the College of Physicians and the Cancer Society came out in support of a province-wide ban. Such a ban was on McGuinty’s platform during his election, and those who voted his government in for the sole purpose of clearing the air have come calling.

In November the provincial Liberals finally responded, and public input is being sought for legislation that could be put in place as early as this spring. If passed, you won’t see signs warning of pesticide use on lawns around town anymore and you won’t have to force your kids and pets to stay indoors the next time you see your neighbour spraying up-wind. We’re not quite sure how the enforcement would take place, but we suspect that at least there will be some recourse. Bureaucrats will not be able to simply shrug their shoulders when such complaints come in.

According to the proposal posted on the Environmental Bill of Rights registry (EBR), there will be allowances for instances of pestilence or disease that may need to be eradicated by the use of chemicals such as fungicides and herbicides.

While the proposal is loose and makes too many concessions on some fronts, it’s a start. Make your voice heard without fear of having to take on the resources of large chemical companies. The EBR is taking comments on the proposed legislation until Feb. 17.