'A drop of water in the pool': information and engagement of linguistic communities around a municipal pesticide bylaw to protect the public's health.

The Multicultural Yard Health and Environment Project (MYHEP) used Toronto's Pesticide Bylaw roll-out process to examine how culturally specific perceptions and practices might influence the relevance of municipal public health information and community engagement strategies and the effectiveness of health protection initiatives. In Canada, and particularly in Toronto, such information is needed for governments to effectively engage with increasingly diverse populations. Focus groups and individual interviews were conducted with Spanish- and Cantonese-speaking participants to document opinions about pesticide use and regulation and views on municipal information and engagement strategies.

Municipal bylaw to reduce cosmetic/non-essential pesticide use on household lawns - a policy implementation evaluation.

Background: Pesticide use on urban lawns and gardens contributes to environmental contamination and human exposure. Municipal policies to restrict use and educate households on viable alternatives deserve study. We describe the development and implementation of a cosmetic/non-essential pesticide bylaw by a municipal health department in Toronto, Ontario, Canada and assess changes in resident practices associated with bylaw implementation.

Under-reporting of live births in Ontario: 1991-1997.

Objective: To examine unregistered births in Ontario and consider related factors, including adoption of administrative fees for birth registration.

Methods: Documents from both the parents and the attending physician are required for births to be entered into Ontario's live birth database. Our study used data from the Ontario Registrar General to look at the prevalence and characteristics of unregistered births, and a survey of municipal clerks to identify municipalities charging fees for parental documentation.