Tim Parent, 610 CKTB News

The Niagara Parks Commission has confirmed it used a herbicide associated with Agent Orange to kill poison ivy on all of its lands.

Robert McIlveen, interim general manager of the NPC, admitted at a commissioners meeting today it used 2,4,5,-T up until 1974.

The NPC intends to hand over all of its records pertaining to the use of the herbicide to the government panel investigating its use in the province.

McIlveen added, the NPC is concerned about the effect the herbicide may have had on former parks employees and the public at large

The NPC has released a statement about the use of 2,4,5,-T.  It can be found here

The province has admitted, the former Ontario Hydro used Agent Orange back in the 50′s, 60′s and 70′s to clear land along power line corridors across Ontario.

In March, Niagara Falls mayor Jim Diodati called on city staff to look in to the use of the herbicide by the province in the Falls area. Speaking to 610 CKTB News, Diodati calls the news unsettling but doesn’t want there to be a knee-jerk reaction to it.  What we need now, he says, is more information from the NPC.

Agent Orange was used heavily by the Americans during the Vietnam war to clear away dense jungle foliage and expose the Vietcong. Its use has been linked to several types of cancers, Parkinson’s disease and other health problems. more…