The Manitoban government is considering banning the use of chemical weed killers for lawns and public green spaces.

Water Stewardship Minister Gord Mackintosh said Monday the risks of pesticides are a growing concern in the province.

“There are studies looking at the health and environmental impacts of cosmetic pesticide use and the science appears to indicate there certainly is a risk,” said MacIntosh, citing particular concern for pregnant women and children.

Mackintosh said many other provinces already have similar legislation in place. “The obvious question is: Shouldn’t Manitoba children have the same benefits that most other Canadian children do enjoy?’ ”

The comments came after MacIntosh was presented with a petition and hand-written letters from over 1,000 concerned Manitobans.

The petition was presented by the group Cosmetic Pesticide Ban Manitoba. The group is urging the province to institute a ban to protect both the environment and human health.

“Cosmetic pesticide use, which primarily is to stop dandelions from growing on our lawn, can not justify further threats to the environment,” said Vicki Burns of the Lake Winnipeg Foundation.

The group said cosmetic pesticides put human health and aquatic ecosystems at particular risk and can have negative long-term effects.

Winnipegger John Kehler uses common weed-killers on his lawn and said it’s a necessity.

“If we don’t use weed killer, it would be weeds on top of weeds,” said Kehler.

Kehler sprays his lawn once a year and said it does the job.

Without the pesticides, Kehler said maintaining his lawn would be a nightmare.

“They just multiple more and more every year. It might not be bad the first or second year, but after three, four, five years you’re going to see weeds and weeds,” said Kehler. “You’re going to see dandelion city.”

Mackintosh said approval of such a ban would hinge on the available of alternatives for lawn care and a look at unintended consequences of the ban.

The minister said he’s not yet sure how restrictive a possible ban would be, but the province is now asking Manitobans to weigh in.

It’s accepting feedback from citizens until Oct. 1 on how far the ban should go.

Burns and her group want an outright ban on the use and sale of all cosmetic pesticides in the province. The group said organic products can and should be used again.

Sharra Hinton of Weed Man Winnipeg said those alternatives are not as effective.

“It’s going to make it a lot harder to help homeowners be happy with their lawns,” said Hinton.

Hinton said organic sprays are costly and don’t work as well. Hinton added that it normally takes only 60 millilitres of chemical to treat an entire lawn.

“60 ml is not a lot of product. You need to keep that in perspective on how little product we’re using,” said Hinton.

The province said they hope to strike a balance between health and Manitoban’s concerns.

Mackintosh said the province would be looking at “how we can bring in protections for Manitoba children and in particular pregnant moms and do it in a way that is effective and does consider the concerns of Manitobans.”

John Kehler said he hopes whatever decision is reached, that some pesticides will still be available.