OTTAWA/TRADITIONAL, UNCEDED TERRITORY OF THE ALGONQUIN ANISHNAABEG PEOPLE – A new report from Ecojustice reveals that pesticide sales in Canada increased by a staggering 47 per cent between 2011 and 2021. These dramatic increases in sales lead to higher and higher exposures for people in Canada and their environment. The report calls on the Canadian government to take urgent steps to address its broken regulatory system and identify pesticides reduction as a clear policy goal to reach its biodiversity commitments and better protect the health of people in Canada.
Canada has become the fifth largest pesticide user in the world, despite having a colder climate than many other countries where pests are reduced in the winter. In 2005, 26 million kilograms of pesticides were estimated to be sold in Canada. Since then, annual pesticide sales have skyrocketed fivefold to more than 130 million kilograms.
As UN food experts have noted, the heavy use of pesticides is not required to feed the world. In fact, without or with minimal use of toxic chemicals, it is possible to produce healthier, nutrient-rich food, with higher yields in the longer term, without polluting and exhausting the environment.
Canada has committed to reducing the risk of pesticides by at least 50 per cent by 2030, as a signatory of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF). The report identifies steps the Canadian government must take to reach this commitment and align itself with international best practices to better protect people and the environment. This includes:
- Establishing a clear long-term goal to eliminate the use of toxic pesticides.
- Realizing easy reductions in the short-term by eliminating certain high-risk, high-volume and low benefit practices such as forestry and cosmetic uses.
- Increasing supports to farmers to shift towards alternative pest management strategies.
- Significantly increasing transparency and weeding out undue and harmful industry influence in decision-making on harmful pesticides.
Sean O’Shea, Government Relations and Campaign Specialist, Ecojustice said:
“The dramatic increase in pesticides use in Canada over the last decade is exposing people in Canada and their environment to more and more risks while agrichemical giants rake in ever-increasing profits. Canadian regulators should acknowledge that pesticides can have a serious impact on human health and must use the best available independent scientific research to inform decision-making about what we allow to be put in the air, water, and land.
“In a time of increased global tension and political uncertainty, it’s important that political leaders in Canada do not lose focus on a protecting our health, environment, and securing a sustainable food system.
“Canada can and should invest in strategies that move beyond pesticides. The survival of agriculture for future generations depends on choices that political leaders make now on how to protect one of most valuable resources, the ecosystem that grows our food.”
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Background
Exposure to pest control products can cause short-term acute health effects, as well as chronic adverse effects that can occur months or years after exposure. While all people in Canada face risks from pesticides, farmers, migrant agricultural workers, and Indigenous Peoples bear the worse impacts. Despite these serious risks, many of these toxic chemicals are being overused across Canada, often with no tangible benefits for farmers or the agricultural economy.
Health Canada suffers from a chronic lack of transparency which can make it difficult for the public to know how decisions are being made and what risks they are being exposed to. Health Canada hasn’t fully implemented many safeguards in the Pest Control Products Act, including for cumulative risks and ecological risks. Often, pesticides are permitted to be used without a full understanding of the potential risks, including legacy pesticides and pesticides that are approved and re-approved without a review of current science.
Canada takes a market-based approach to pesticide policy that allows multinational agrichemical companies wield control over the agricultural sector. As a result, these companies reap billions in profits at the expense of farmers, workers, and our health and environment.
It’s time to put people and planet over profit. Canada must act urgently to reduce pesticide use and hazards to advance its commitments under the 2022 Global Biodiversity Framework, protect the health of people in Canada, and ensure a safe, livable planet for future generations.
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Media contact
Zoryana Cherwick, Communications Strategist | Ecojustice
1-800-926-7744 ext. 277, zcherwick@ecojustice.ca
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