Why is Glyphosate Still Allowed In Canada?

Because PMRA says it’s OK

You may have heard that glyphosate probably causes cancer, that it is being banned across the globe, and that Bayer, the maker of Roundup, is considering withdrawing this chemical from the retail market.

Yet Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency in 2017 issued a Re-evaluation Decision that allowed for continued use in Canada of this chemical until at least the 2030s. 

Safe Food Matters says it’s not OK

We are Safe Food Matters Inc., and we have been using all legal avenues to object to and challenging this re-registration decision. We are the only Canadian group that directly issued a court challenge to the decision, and we are happy that other groups are now intervening. 

Problems with PMRA’s Decision

Here is a presentation we recently issued that shows some flaws in PMRA’s 2017 Decision. This presentation does not speak specifically to issues arising in our Court case, for legal reasons. We also provide an Executive Summary.  

Problems with PMRA’s Glyphosate Decision

Executive Summary

• Risk = hazard x exposure
• The scope of PMRAs risk assessments on health and the environment were lacking
  • PMRA did not examine the whole pest control product, look at cumulative effects or correctly apply safety and uncertainty factors
• PMRA’s human health hazard assessment dismissed effects on the human gut and next generations
• PMRA’s human health exposure assessment was flawed:
  • Dietary exposure was based on irrelevant and outdated data
  • Occupational exposure evidence dismissed
  • PMRA did not protect vulnerable populations
• PMRA’s cancer assessment was flawed:
  • No exposure assessment
  • Problems with the hazard assessment
  • Undue reliance on one study
  • Misapplication of the Weight of Evidence Approach
• PMRA’s assessments were based on tainted science and connections
• PMRA’s environmental risk assessment has risks of concern that cannot be mitigated by labels
• PMRA worked with EPA on the environmental risk assessment, but EPA is set to revise its work
• There is no international consensus on glyphosate, despite what PMRA suggests
• Many countries are banning and restricting glyphosate
• A particular note on forests: that current uses are not what PMRA approved

Expose the Flaws

Now is the time to dispel the idea that glyphosate is safe, and expose the problems with this chemical and the assessments of it.