Alberta charges village with improper use of strong poison strychnine

The government has charged a community in southeastern Alberta with improper use of pesticides, including the strong poison strychnine.

The province says the Village of Cereal faces 12 charges under environmental protection laws and pesticide regulations.

It says the village foreman and the caretaker of the village campground also face the charges that stem from June 2017.

They include releasing substances that may cause a significant adverse effect and applying pesticides without proper approval and qualifications.

Details of what happened are not immediately available.

Strychnine can have severe adverse health effects in people, including death, and Health Canada has been proposing to ban the use of the poison to control gophers.