Backgrounder to Glyphosate Appeal/ document d’information sur l’appel
Who We Are
Canadian non-profit, founded in 2016, dedicated to protecting health and protecting the environment, with a focus on the safety of food production technologies.
Campaigns have included GE foods and synthetic biology.
Taking Health Canada to the Federal Court of Appeal over its risk assessment of glyphosate.
Context
Glyphosate (Roundup) was registered for use in Canada in 1976 as a weed killer.
In the 2000s farmers started to spray it right onto growing crops to kill them.
The goal was to “dry-down” or “desiccate” the crops for efficiency purposes: (1) the timing of harvest could be scheduled, and (2) crops wouldn’t be wet so easier to harvest in one pass with big machines. This is “pre-harvest treatment” or “desiccation.”
Problem
When glyphosate is sprayed on crops that are growing, it moves through the roots into the plant’s circulation system and then binds to and moves with the nutrients right into the priority growing locations: the seeds, beans …Read More
SAFE FOOD MATTERS, BUT NOT TO HEALTH CANADA ?
BUT NOT TO HEALTH CANADA ?
Safe food matters to you and me, but does it matter to Health Canada? We aren’t convinced. Why not? We have been in a David vs. Goliath battle with them since 2017 regarding their regulatory approach to safe food, and have two basic observations. First, in our view, Health Canada hasn’t followed the intent or the letter of the law. Second, the conduct of the regulator has been problematic.
This article provides detail on these two points. With respect to the first point, it explains how on our file Health Canada did not conduct a strong risk assessment, was not transparent, and delayed the file by more than a decade.
On the second point, it shows that the regulator: was not upfront about the process, did not provide relevant documents, did not provide the qualifications of reviewing scientists, and worked to counter rather than properly consider the …Read More
safe food matters appeals decision
Safe Food Matters Inc. is appealing the Federal Court judgement that allows the decision of Health Canada to renew glyphosate to stand. The appeal was filed on March 13 at the Federal Court of Appeal.
“We think the wrong legal test was applied in the case, and that the decision-making of Health Canada on the file was not reasonable,” said Mary Lou McDonald, President of Safe Food Matters.
The case goes back to 2017, when Health Canada re-registered glyphosate for use in Canada. Eight groups objected and asked for an independent review panel, and in 2019 Health Canada responded with no. SFM then applied in Federal Court for judicial review and asked again for the Minister of Health to consider establishing a review panel. The Federal Court on February 13 dismissed the application.
The appeal process has been initiated, and Safe Food Matters has again retained Andrea Gonsalves of Stockwoods LLP as …Read More
Federal Court releases its decision
Safe Food Matters (SFM) has received notice that the Federal Court will not direct that an independent review panel be struck to review glyphosate.
The Court was of the view that SFM needed to “challenge the science relied on by the PMRA in the Evaluations”. We respectfully disagree, and believe that our job was to raise a scientific doubt about the validity of the evaluations Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) conducted. A “valid evaluation” is one that is complete, transparent, current and free from bias and the appearance of conflict of interest.
We believe we did that, by showing that PMRA did not examine the mechanism in plants that allows higher levels of glyphosate to accumulate in the seeds of legumes and cereals when they are desiccated. As such, the evaluation was not complete, and Health Canada cannot with complete impunity say there is no “unacceptable risk” to human health.
The process has …Read More
Federal Court FOLLOW-UP
By Mary Lou McDonald, Safe Food Matters President
Safe Food Matters took action on Health Canada’s review of glyphosate because we believe in the law and our Court system. We think the law is on our side, and we don’t expect we will be disappointed. It was clear to all in attendance that Justice Sandra Simpson took these matters very seriously.
Hon. Simpson has a heavy burden, particularly in the current context where issues about desiccation with glyphosate and dietary exposure are coming under increasing scrutiny. Kellogg’s recently announced they are phasing out use as a “pre-harvest drying agent”, and the short-term EU renewal of glyphosate imposed strict limits on pre-harvest use. New hard science is coming out that it alters the microbiome of the human gut. And numerous class actions are being launched in Canada.
We believe we raised a scientific doubt about the validity of the glyphosate assessment of Health Canada’s …Read More
Court Date & Court Case
Court Date Jan 30 TO
Safe Food Matters has good news, on 2 fronts!
FIRST, we have a court date! It is January 30, 2020, at the Federal Court in Toronto: 180 Queen St. W., starting at 9:30. The public is allowed to attend, so please show up if you are so inclined! We are scheduled for the full day.
Andrea Gonsalves, our fantastic lawyer from Stockwoods LLP, will make her submissions first, then the Attorney General will present. Andrea will then reply. I can’t wait to see her in action! Again, a HUGE shout out to Andrea and Stockwoods for taking on and minimizing the fees on this case: VERY generous and very much appreciated.
SECOND, the Supreme Court of Canada on December 19 released the Vavilov decision, and we think it adds strength to the case we are making, which is that Health Canada did not act reasonably when it rejected our …Read More
Summary of Health Canada Court Case: Glyphosate
Hello! Here is a short summary of our Federal Court case.
Health Canada in April 2017 approved the registration for glyphosate use in Canada until 2032 or later.
Safe Food Matters and 7 other groups filed notices of objection in late June 2017.
In January 2019, Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) under Health Canada rejected all the objections.
SFM and our President, Mary Lou McDonald, decided to take the last legal step possible: asking the Federal Court to review the legal basis for the rejections.
Mary Lou is a retired lawyer. She drafted and filed the notice of application in February 2019.
But she is not a court lawyer, so we hired Andrea Gonsalves of Stockwoods LLP, a vegan who is passionate about the case. They have kindly agreed on a “not to exceed”.
The goal is an independent review of the basis for the registration of glyphosate, which could lead to a full or partial ban.
At …Read More
Going to Court Over Glyphosate!
SAFE FOOD MATTERS Going to Court Over Roundup/Glyphosate
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
TORONTO, February 12, 2019 – Safe Food Matters Inc. filed an application in federal court yesterday, challenging the re-registration of glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide. In 2017 it filed a notice of objection (“NoO”) to the re-registration decision and asked that an independent review panel be established. Eight NoOs were filed in mid-2017, and all were rejected on January 11, 2019.
“We have no choice but to go to Court on this issue” said Mary Lou McDonald, President of Safe Food Matters (and also a challenger in her own right). “We point out to the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (“PMRA”) exactly how this poison is concentrating in certain foods, and all they do is tweak the labels. The feds’ own data shows that label details aren’t followed or enforced. It is not right. They are completely ignoring the issue.”
In addition, …Read More
To the PMRA – We Object!
On December 17, 2018, Safe Food Matters (along with Friends of the Earth Canada, Prevent Cancer Now and Right On Canada) objected to Health Canada’s re-registration of #glyphosate and called for immediate action by Canada’s pesticide regulator, #PMRA.
See our letter below.
Objecting to Glyphosate Desiccation
Glyphosate is being sprayed on crops to kill them for harvest, and the poison gets right into the still-growing seeds and beans: the food we eat. High and illegal levels in “healthy” foods like chickpeas result from this “desiccation” technique.
Health Canada just renewed the registration for glyphosate for another 15 years, and only tweaked the labels for spraying. It didn’t examine the effects of desiccation, and the tweaks won’t change desiccation exposure. Labels won’t work, aren’t followed, can’t be enforced, and Health Canada’s own law even admits it.
These points were made in a Notice of Objection (“NOO”) filed with Health Canada on June 27, 2017. The NOO was filed to object to Re-evaluation Decision RVD 2017-01 of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (“PMRA”) to grant continued registration of glyphosate.[i] A summary of the NOO is below.
Residues exceed legal limits (eg. chickpeas)
Desiccation is occurring on a large scale in North America. …Read More
