B.C. issues intentions paper restricting sale and use of specific rodenticides

On May 4, 2022, the B.C. government issued an Intentions Paper which provides notice of upcoming changes to the Integrated Pest Management Regulation. The main changes impacting retail and quick-service restaurants would permanently enact changes made by the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy in a 2021 Ministerial Order.

The change would limit the sale and use of “second-generation anticoagulant rodenticides” (known as SGARs). (The sale and use is regulated federally by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). The changes prohibit access and use of SGARs in B.C. to the public, and most commercial and industrial operations. There are three particularly relevant exemptions on use that impact retail sectors (exemptions for Food Supply and Agricultural Production; Transportation; and Health and Health Services).

In terms of sale, the changes restrict access to areas where SGAR products are sold; require the posting of Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy signage; require vendors to verify that purchasers hold a certificate in the appropriate category; hold a license; are purchasing for permitted use or licensed service provider; require dispensers to inform customers of the risks to wildlife, and require vendors to keep additional records relating to the purchase and sale of SGARs. RCC will provide government with a response.