In one of the final bills passed before Parliament rose for the summer, Canada has made major changes to how pesticides are regulated. The new law shifts more power over which pesticides can be used onto the federal Cabinet, in a move critics and supporters agree is significant.
The legislation gives Mark Carney's Cabinet the power to greenlight the use of any pesticide, even one that Canada has decided is unsafe or has already banned. The authorization can be granted on the grounds that there are economic-security or food-security concerns.
Science, environment and health groups say the measures mark the largest overhaul of Canada's pesticide rules in a generation. They describe it as a fundamental change to how decisions about chemical safety are made in the country.
At the heart of the criticism is how broad the new authority is. The law gives Cabinet the ability to override the health minister and permit any pesticide, and opponents note that the economic-security and food-security grounds are not defined, leaving them very vague. What it amounts to, critics say, is Cabinet overruling science.
The political opposition has been pointed. The Bloc Quebecois and the NDP say the changes put Canadians' health and the environment at risk, framing the new powers as a step backward for safety oversight.
The government, for its part, says it will be transparent if it decides to authorize a pesticide. It says ministers will only do so in exceptional circumstances and under specific conditions, and that it would not and cannot use the measures if there are health hazards attached to a product.
Questions have also been raised about industry influence. Health Minister Marjorie Michel declined an interview with CBC News, while lobby records show she and her staff met regularly with CropLife, the group that represents the pesticide industry, and that she recently spoke at one of its events. Her office defends the contacts as consulting agricultural organizations, and CropLife says the law allows farmers to be more productive, adapt to climate and pest pressures, and stay globally competitive.