GIVEN ITS TOXIC PROPERTIES, it is beyond our understanding why Giant Hogweed should be marketed as an ornamental plant, much less why anyone should cultivate it.

Our understanding is that not everyone is sensitive to the sap, in the same way that not everyone is sensitive to poison ivy and poison oak. But the majority are.

A family not sensitive to the giant plant’s toxic effects might be able to cultivate with no harm to themselves. But this doesn’t guarantee their guests will not be harmed.

Just as importantly, the plant they cultivate is going to release an estimated 100,000 seeds. Some will germinate close to the parent plant, but most others will wind up in the lawns and gardens of unsuspecting victims. As well, wind-blown seeds can land in hayfields where they will grow into plants that become intermingled with the hay crop, with the result that livestock are fed poison.

In our opinion, because the effects of the weed are well known, there is a risk of potential liability for any harm caused to other persons or to farming operations.

We believe this position of liability should be reinforced by banning the importation, selling, buying or cultivating the toxic weed.

That’s why we commend Dufferin County Council for its recent passing of a bylaw designed to eradicate the weed.