(Ottawa) The suspension of the increase in maximum residue limits, which has been in force since 2021, will be lifted by the federal government. For now, it affects certain single-use pesticides, but not glyphosate. In addition, the use of pesticides on federal land will be banned from 2024.
The increase in the limit value for glyphosate residues in food caused an uproar in 2021, especially in Quebec. The government then suspended its plan a few weeks before the start of the federal election campaign.
Officials at the Ministry of Health and the Environment could not specify on Tuesday which products will be affected. These were single-use products or products intended for a single culture, they said.
Health Canada will thus be able to authorize residue increases “when deemed safe and acceptable from the point of view of risk to human health and the environment”. However, it is not yet ready to rule on glyphosate residues, as around 20,000 comments have been received on the issue.
The government also wants to make it easier to see the studies submitted by pesticide manufacturers, on which it bases its regulatory decisions. Currently it is only possible to consult these studies on site in Ottawa at a state library. Therefore, it was difficult for independent researchers to access it.
Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) was severely criticized on the issue during the 2019 National Assembly Parliamentary Committee on Pesticides.
In addition, the federal government announces that from 2024 the use of pesticides on federal land for aesthetic purposes will also be banned.
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