Earlier this spring, the federal government announced it would be temporarily lifting a two-year ban on a controversial rodenticide called strychnine until next year following damages worth hundreds of millions by a particular rodent in Alberta and Saskatchewan.
The infestation of the Richardson ground squirrels, also colloquially known as gophers, in both provinces was so rampant and the size of the holes they would dig were so big that the tires of tractors would be blown out and other farming equipment would be badly damaged.
Impact on Crops and Economy
The situation has affected a wide variety of crops — including canola, cereal and corn — across the Prairies at a time when Canada is aiming to export its resources globally. Alberta and Saskatchewan submitted a joint emergency use request to Health Canada which was approved in late March, but it was already too late by then for farmers to use strychnine this year as the sole authorized manufacturer has faced supply chain issues.
A senior government official with knowledge of the deliberations said it took almost three rounds of emergency registration requests for strychnine to be approved at a time when farmers were faced with an “unmanageable infestation” and lacked suitable alternatives. More generally, the official said the government has heard from Canadian innovators and venture capitalists in the agriculture space that they are leaving the country because of a regulatory environment for pesticides that is too cumbersome, risky and unpredictable.
“That is something that, I think, is keeping all of us up at night,” they said.
Legislative Changes
That’s why the government has moved this week to amend the Pest Control Products Act to make it easier to reinstate some previously banned pesticides like strychnine in a more timely manner — a disposition, the government claims, will be used only in exceptional circumstances when necessary to protect Canada’s economy or food security.
“Let’s be clear: the health and safety of Canadians will always be the priority,” said Alexandre Bergeron, press secretary to Health Minister Marjorie Michel.
Canada has given some exceptional new powers to the Governor in Council to amend registration or reauthorize a previously deregistered or banned pesticide if the country is faced with another situation that would have significant impacts on the economy. The changes were buried in Bill C-30 — which implements elements of the spring economic update — which was rushed through the House of Commons and the Senate this week before leaving for summer. The legislation received royal assent on Thursday.
The government had announced its intention in the update to amend the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act and the Pest Control Products Act to include consideration of food security and cost of food, but it did not explicitly mention authorizing banned pesticides. The law now says the federal minister of health is to consider “as appropriate, national economic security, regional economic security or national food security” in deciding whether a pest control product should be used in Canada.
