Invasive plants are available across Canada. Is federal regulation possible?

Canadian cities are trying to stop invasive plants from being sold in local garden centres, as advocates push Ottawa to create a national approach to regulating the horticultural trade.

With invasive plants threatening biodiversity across the country, municipalities are increasingly trying to fill gaps in a regulatory system that varies by jurisdiction. Canada, meanwhile, has set a target of reducing the rate of introduction and establishment of known invasive species by at least 50 per cent by 2030.

The Canadian Coalition for Invasive Plant Regulation (CCIPR) wants the federal government to establish a regulatory body for the horticultural industry and create a national database identifying invasive plants and their risks in different regions. 

"Even if we don't prohibit them, we need to let the public know when there is potential harm," said CCIPR co-founder Cathy Kavassalis. "We do this on other products, and we should do it on plants too. It's just common sense."

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency regulates some invasive plants, while provinces and territories have their own invasive species or weed-control legislation. 

CBC News reached out to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for comment but did not receive a response by publication time.

In July, Nanaimo council passed a motion to pursue a bylaw amendment restricting the sale of plants on a list maintained by the Invasive Species Council of B.C. A week later, Surrey moved to ban sales by businesses including nurseries, large retail chains and florists. 

In May, London, Ont.'s, environmental committee recommended requiring retailers that sell invasive plants and animals to provide information to customers at the point of sale.

Kavassalis said a problem that could be addressed at higher levels of government is being pushed down to municipalities.

"These are all patchwork solutions that, in some ways, just waste a lot of resources," she said. 

Kirsty MacDonald, Nanaimo's parks manager, said invasive plants are already affecting the local landscape, with some posing potential risks to human health. 

Most local plant suppliers were aware of the problem, she said, though invasive species can still appear in plant mixes or popular varieties such as English ivy. 

"Banning the sale of new introductions [of invasive plants] in backyards, especially, is one method," she said. "It's a many-pronged approach that we need to be looking at to make some headway."

"All levels of government really need to be part of the solution," she said.

Kavassalis said meeting the federal government's 2030 target will require addressing the horticultural trade.

Source: Read the original article on www.cbc.ca