CropLife Canada statement on Government of Canada’s pesticide announcement

The Government of Canada recently made a series of announcements related to the regulation and use of pesticides in Canada. Unfortunately, the government missed a critical opportunity to stand firmly behind Canada’s world-class approach to pesticide regulation and increase public confidence in the safety of pesticides.

We applaud the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food for her strong statements in support of the importance of pesticides in food production and the need for these important tools to help bolster food security in Canada and around the world. However, it’s critical that the government’s actions match its words when it comes to science-based decision making on pesticides.

After almost two years of a scientifically unjust pause on any increases to Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) for pesticides in Canada, the government has said it will only slowly begin to increase MRLs again where required, despite acknowledging that MRLs do not pose a safety concern and that they are critical to international trade and food security. Canada regularly stands up on the global stage and demands adherence to rules-based trade from our key trading partners, yet domestically the government is failing to live up to its own words.

The government’s newly announced plan to ban the cosmetic use of pesticides on federal lands runs in direct contradiction to its own risk-based approach to pesticide regulation. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency thoroughly assesses all pesticides for safety. For Health Canada to deem pesticides safe and then turn around and ban them for so-called cosmetic purposes on their own lands sends conflicting messages to Canadians.

While the plant science industry shares the Government of Canada’s ambitions to advance sustainable agriculture and protect biodiversity in Canada, making real change on these fronts demands a long-term vision supported by scientifically-backed approaches, not ideology. It is time that the Government of Canada supports its claims of standing behind the science with its actions.