Key facts
- Health Canada's Pesticides Regulatory Directorate is now monitoring glyphosate under its continuous oversight policy.
Health Canada's Pesticides Regulatory Directorate has added glyphosate to its continuous oversight policy, a move that could lead to a special review of the herbicide's safety. This policy involves tracking and evaluating new information on pesticide safety as it emerges, rather than on a fixed schedule. Environmental groups cite new evidence, including the redaction of a 2000 study, as grounds for a special review, while Bayer maintains the herbicide is safe and widely used.
Health Canada's Pesticides Regulatory Directorate has incorporated glyphosate, the world's most widely used herbicide, into its continuous oversight policy. This new approach, decided upon last fall, involves ongoing monitoring and evaluation of new scientific information regarding the safety of pesticides, moving away from scheduled reviews. Environmental groups, such as Ecojustice, argue that recent developments, including the redaction of a 2000 study due to allegations of ghostwriting by Monsanto employees, warrant a special review of glyphosate. A special review is triggered when there are reasonable grounds to believe a pesticide poses unacceptable risks to human health or the environment.
Bayer, the manufacturer of glyphosate-based products like Roundup, stated that this continuous monitoring process is a new way of evaluating all pesticides and does not indicate a health concern or automatically trigger special reviews. The company emphasized that thousands of studies have been conducted on glyphosate's safety, with the vast majority showing no Monsanto involvement, and that leading regulatory bodies worldwide concur that glyphosate can be used safely and is not carcinogenic. Health Canada reiterated its 2019 position that no global regulatory authority considers glyphosate a cancer risk at current human exposure levels, stating that the redaction of the 2000 study does not alter its established stance. Despite regulatory assurances, class-action lawsuits in multiple countries, including Canada, claim glyphosate has caused non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and other cancers.
Canadian farmers rely heavily on glyphosate for weed control across millions of acres, making its regulatory status critical for agricultural practices and crop yields. The ongoing scrutiny and potential for special reviews could impact the availability and cost of this widely used herbicide.