Restore independent pesticide approvals
Sign on the House of Commons websitePetitioners ask the government to repeal or amend Bill C-30’s provisions allowing cabinet to override Health Canada’s pesticide risk assessments, restore independent evidence-based approvals, and require full public and parliamentary review of future changes.
Why we would sign this petition
- It would restore independent, science-based pesticide approvals, prioritizing public health, food safety and environmental protection over political influence.
- It would reduce the chance that political or economic considerations override scientific risk assessments, lowering the risk of continued use of harmful pesticides.
- Mandating public and parliamentary review would increase transparency and accountability for any future changes to pesticide law.
Why we wouldn’t sign this petition
- Removing cabinet authority could limit the government's ability to respond to urgent economic, trade or supply issues that may justify temporary pesticide authorizations.
- Requiring a strictly independent approval process may delay access to pesticides some farmers or industries consider necessary for production or pest control.
- Mandatory public and parliamentary reviews could politicize technical decisions and create delays or added bureaucracy for scientific regulation.
The summary and both sets of reasons are AI-generated from the petition and given equal weight. Claims are the petitioners’ own; consult the official record for the full text.
Official petition
Petition to the House of Commons in Parliament assembled Bill C-30 amended the Pest Control Products Act to allow federal cabinet to authorize the continued or renewed use of pesticides that Health Canada has determined pose unacceptable risks to human health or the environment; This change permits political and economic considerations to override independent, science-based safety assessments that have historically guided pesticide regulation in Canada; and Canadians deserve pesticide regulation grounded in independent scientific evidence to protect public health, food safety, and the environment. We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. Repeal or amend the provisions of Bill C-30 that allow cabinet to override Health Canada's science-based pesticide risk assessments; 2. Restore pesticide approval decisions to an independent, evidence-based process free from political influence; and 3. Commit to full public and parliamentary review of any future changes to the Pest Control Products Act.
Government response
No government response is available yet.