Holding Health Canada to Account on Glyphosate
Safe Food Matters is standing strong in its challenge over dismissed objections and failed risk assessment
By Mary Lou McDonald, President, Safe Food Matters
Glyphosate was re-registered by Health Canada in 2017, and Canadians were granted 60 days to file any objections. The Pest Control Products Act (the Act) permitted this pursuant to its mandate to “facilitate public participation in the decision-making on pesticides”. Safe Food Matters Inc. filed a notice of objection (NoO) on June 27, 2017.
The Notice of Objection
There were nine objections in the notice. They followed three themes.
Pre-harvest spraying of glyphosate on crops raises a health risk that wasn’t examined in the scientific assessment. Consumption of these crops (like chickpeas) has increased significantly since the assessment.
The ten-fold safety factor to protect children had not been applied.
The labels for how to spray weren’t good enough to protect Canadians from the risks.
When we submitted the objections, we thought …Read More
BILL C-224 IS NOW BEFORE THE STANDING COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Bill C-224 has successfully just passed 2nd reading–the bill was unanimously passed and is now before the Standing Committee on Health.
What is Bill C-224?
Bill C-224 repeals the changes that were snuck into the 2023 Budget Bill. Those changes put Natural Health Products into the therapeutic drug model and made them subject to $5 million per day fines for sharing truthful health information.
Historic: 157,057 Canadians Back Charter of Health Freedom Petition
In this powerful moment in the House of Commons, MP Blaine Calkins tables one of the largest paper petitions in Canadian history — signed by 157,057 Canadians.
Initiated by the Natural Health Products Protection Association (NHPPA), the Charter of Health Freedom Petition represents a massive grassroots movement calling for Canadians’ right to make informed decisions about their own health.
The petition calls for:
•Personal sovereignty over one’s own body
•Freedom to choose how to prevent and treat illness
•Access to natural health products and …Read More
Legal Challenge Filed Over Federal Approval of PFAS Pesticide
As Health Canada and ECCC Move to Eliminate PFAS, PMRA Approves Two “Forever Chemical” Pesticides
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA, February 12, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ — Health and environmental organizations have filed a Federal Court application challenging Health Canada’s approval of cyclobutrifluram, a fluorinated pesticide classified as a PFAS, for use on food crops in Canada.
The application, filed on Jan. 19, 2026, seeks judicial review of a decision by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) authorizing cyclobutrifluram for use on romaine lettuce and as a soybean seed treatment.
Safe Food Matters is leading the case, joined by co-applicants Friends of the Earth Canada and Prevent Cancer Now.
The applicants allege the PMRA acted unreasonably, did not comply with the law, and were biased in their assessment. They say the approval is inconsistent with federal policy and that PMRA failed to properly assess the risks associated with the PFAS chemical, part of a class of substances known to …Read More
2026 Message of Hope, Light and Love: Bring Humanity Back
At this time of reflection and resolution, we offer our annual message of Hope, Light and Love. The theme this year is “bring humanity back.”
The Hope: we strengthen our feeling of being human
The Light of truth: humans have an innate sense of of good and bad, of right and wrong
The Love for others: provides the energy to do what we can to make a difference
We offer these ideas so you might use them in your reflections.
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And we’d like you to know that Safe Food Matters applies these principles in our work. We think eating is human, it is best to eat good food, and we want this for those we love. So we work on obtaining safe food, we know something is not right if foods have been sprayed with poisons or manipulated, and we work in the public interest to challenge such practices.
You can see it in our work.
In …Read More
Coalition Urges Health Canada to Overhaul Pesticide Regulation and Launch Special Review
Coalition calls for an immediate glyphosate moratorium and modernized pesticide oversight in Canada
A coalition of nearly 30 civil society and academic organizations is calling on the federal government to halt plans announced in the latest budget to weaken Canada’s pesticide regulatory process. Instead, they are demanding a long-overdue public debate and comprehensive reform to protect farmers, public health and the environment.
At the center of concern is the government’s intention to abolish the cyclical re-evaluation of pesticides, a key mechanism designed to monitor pesticide safety over time. Eliminating this process would further weaken a system already skewed in favour of the agrochemical industry, giving more power to a regulator that has lost public trust. Between 2022 and 2025, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) spent $42 million on its so-called “transformation agenda” — with no meaningful improvements to safety oversight.
The coalition also emphasizes that the statutory review of the Pest …Read More
‘The World’s Greatest Health Van’ Travels to Ottawa: 150,000 Canadians Call for The Charter of Health Freedom
OTTAWA, Ontario, Oct. 23, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE)
Shawn Buckley, President of the Natural Health Product Protection Association (NHPPA), is on the road — destination Parliament Hill, Ottawa. His main purpose is to deliver a message on behalf of thousands of Canadians: We want better access to natural health products.
Upon arrival in Ottawa, Mr. Buckley is delivering to members of Parliament a document called The Charter of Health Freedom (‘The Health Charter’), which he describes as “a citizen initiative to ensure fair and balanced regulation of basic nutrients and natural remedies. The benefits must be maximized, and the risks minimized.”
Along with ‘The Health Charter’, he is also delivering the third-largest paper petition in Canadian history, signed by more than 150,000 citizens from coast to coast.
Delivering the Charter in Ottawa will be the culmination of a cross-Canada road trip, which began October 4 in Victoria, British Columbia, making multiple stops in cities including Whitehorse, Grande …Read More
The National School Food Program Will Be Made Permanent!
Canada is making school food permanent — but the real question is: what kind of food will children be eating?
The federal government has announced that its National School Food Program will become a permanent fixture, with $216.6 million in annual funding beginning in 2029. The move marks a major step toward universal food access — yet it leaves open crucial questions about food quality, sourcing and safety.
Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed on October 10 that his government will introduce legislation to make the program permanent, ensuring long-term funding so that every child and youth in Canada can access food at school. The announcement follows years of advocacy from the Coalition for Healthy School Food, of which Safe Food Matters is a proud member.
“This is a victory for children, families, educators and communities across the country,” said Debbie Field, National Coordinator of the Coalition for Healthy School Food. “By making this program permanent, Canada joins global leaders who understand …Read More
Mad Dog Case on Glyphosate: PMRA Refuses Action on New Science
Health Canada dismisses significance of new science, including forest studies, leaving Safe Food Matters to consider further action.
Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) has decided to not take any steps regarding the registration of glyphosate, even after the Court ordered it to look at new science.
Safe Food Matters is reviewing PMRA’s decision to do nothing and is considering next steps.
PMRA took the decision, even though it was aware of new science from the Ramazinni institute that shows glyphosate causes cancer, and even though it was aware of risks to peoples who eat forest food from Safe Food Matters’ Forest Spraying & Forest Food Report that shows high levels of glyphosate arise in berries after forest spraying and that Indigenous peoples (and others) eat these berries.
The PMRA was told by the Federal Court on March 3, 2025, to redetermine the application for renewal of a glyphosate product, “Mad Dog Plus,” …Read More
New Glyphosate studies find risks with “on-label” pre-harvest use
Legal limits are exceeded even when spray labels are followed.
Conclusion of the Transformation Agenda: Nothing Transformed
On August 4, 2021, Health Canada announced:
it was pausing proposed increases to pesticide Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs), including for glyphosate
the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) would receive $42 million over three years “to further strengthen its human and environmental health and safety oversight and protection”- the Transformation Agenda.
Three years later, and $42 million later, nothing has been transformed. The PMRA is consulting on 4 proposed regulations, that do NOT strengthen protection from pesticides. Two of them do nothing, and two actually make matters worse.
This is despite the fact that PMRA received almost 20,000 comments from members of the public on the proposal to increase MRLs of glyphosate. It dismissed 94% of the comments, and intends to carry on as usual.
Proposed MRL Regulation
PMRA says in the consultation document that:
“the current MRL setting process protects human health and does not require changes”.
However, the current process does not protect human health. …Read More
