Professionalism Courses
This presentation will provide information on the public’s knowledge and misinformation with respect to pesticides and pesticide use in Canada as determined by ongoing surveys conducted by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency. Knowing the key areas where the public may lack key information or have misinformation can help applicators anticipate questions or concerns and be prepared to have effective discussions. Information on the benefits of pesticide use in specific applicator classes and answers to concerns the public may have regarding pesticide use will be discussed. In addition, approaches to starting and maintaining effective conversations will also be discussed.
As the world changes and communication and social media increase, the concept of a social license becomes very important. Social license is defined and examples are given. Social license applies to many aspects of society and pesticides is one that we must address. We as applicators need to communicate our IPM programs with the public so they realize that we are always using an IPM program when dealing with pests. Pesticides and pesticide application are under more and more scrutiny and we must understand what our social license is and how to improve it to ensure we have the opportunity to use pesticides in the future
As with every occupation, it is important to act professionally. As people applying pesticides in a world where pesticides are under the microscope, it is critical that we act professional in all aspects of pesticide application. From purchasing to transporting to application through to cleanup and disposal plus dealing with bystanders, it is important that we handle every aspect professionally. Not only is it important for us, the pesticide applicator, but also everyone that works for us.