A federal judge has criticized Canada’s pesticide regulator for failing to conduct a thorough scientific review before renewing the licence of a widely used glyphosate-based product.
Blacklock's Reporter says the ruling came in response to a legal challenge by four environmental groups opposing the continued sale of the pesticide.
“Simply put, I cannot connect the dots when there are none,” wrote Federal Court Justice Russel Zinn, ruling that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s actions “fail to meet the legal standard of reasonableness.”
The case stemmed from an October 27, 2022 petition by environmental groups urging the Agency to reconsider its decision to allow Loveland Products Canada Inc. to continue selling Mad Dog Plus, a glyphosate-based pesticide.
The groups submitted 61 peer-reviewed studies raising concerns about the chemical’s health effects. However, the Agency renewed the licence on December 28 without confirming it had reviewed the studies.
“If the scientists genuinely reviewed 61 new studies, they must have formed some reasoning as to why those studies did not raise concerns,” wrote Zinn.
“We do not see that here.”
The court noted that when asked how its decision could be reviewed without a record of how the studies were assessed, the Agency’s legal counsel argued that renewals require a “lighter form of scrutiny.”
Zinn rejected that reasoning and ordered the Agency to conduct a proper review of the studies within six months or revoke the licence.
The lawsuit was brought by Friends of the Earth, the David Suzuki Foundation, Safe Food Matters, and Environmental Defence.
Glyphosate-based pesticides have been sold in Canada since 1976 and remain the country’s most widely used pesticide.
“Currently, there are over 169 registered pest control products containing glyphosate in Canada,” noted the Court.
Legal challenges surrounding glyphosate continue to mount. In 2023, Ontario Superior Court certified a class action lawsuit against Monsanto Canada over alleged health risks. In the U.S., similar litigation led the manufacturer to agree to a US$9.6 billion settlement in 2020.