OTTAWA — Parliament has passed a controversial budget omnibus bill that enacts the largest overhaul of Canada’s pesticide regulations in a generation, granting the federal cabinet unprecedented powers to override scientific safety findings and authorize the use of chemicals deemed unsafe by Health Canada.
Bill C-30 passed through both the House of Commons and the Senate on Thursday just before Parliament rose for the summer. Hidden within the sweeping economic legislation are major amendments to the Pest Control Products Act, which will now allow Prime Minister Mark Carney’s cabinet to greenlight banned or unapproved pesticides if ministers decide it is in the interest of “economic or national food security.” The legislation does not define what constitutes a security interest.
Under the new rules, cabinet can also bypass the health minister’s direct denials to authorize a pesticide to combat a “seriously detrimental infestation,” allowing its unchecked usage for up to six years.
The legislative maneuvering has sparked fierce condemnation from opposition parties, environmental organizations, and an alliance of expert scientists from 13 Canadian universities. Critics accuse the Liberal government of shutting down democratic debate by fast-tracking the omnibus bill without allowing health or environment committees to study the changes or hear expert testimony.
“It’s pretty outrageous… what you’ve got is cabinet overruling science,” said Dr. Trevor Hancock, a public health physician with the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. “We already have a pesticide regulatory system in place to protect people and the environment. I don’t think they’ve given any clear evidence as to why overruling that is good for Canadians.”
Senator Rosa Galvez, a leading expert on pollution and human health, called the bill a “fundamental shift” that dangerously substitutes political judgment for scientific expertise. She warned that the decision ignores extensive medical research linking pesticide exposure to cancer, neurological issues, and reproductive complications.
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May sharply rebuked the law, calling it “the single most regressive proposal” she has seen in her 51 years of working on pesticide policy in Canada. The NDP and Bloc Québécois similarly condemned the government for putting Canadian health and ecosystems at risk.
The federal government has strongly defended the changes, linking them to rising grocery bills and a $3.2-billion strategy to boost local food production. Alexandre Bergeron, a spokesperson for Health Minister Marjorie Michel, stated that the authorities would only be used under “exceptional circumstances” to ensure “successful harvests” and secure “food sovereignty.” He cited the recent temporary emergency authorization of strychnine to control ground squirrel infestations in Alberta and Saskatchewan as an example of balancing environmental risk with agricultural necessity.
However, the bill’s passage has also cast a spotlight on the close relationship between the government and the agricultural chemical lobby. Lobbyist registries show that Minister Michel and her top political aides met with CropLife Canada—the powerful trade association representing pesticide corporations—multiple times leading up to the bill’s introduction. Michel also broke precedent by becoming the first Canadian health minister to speak at a CropLife event, where industry leaders praised her “bold action” to modernize regulations.
CropLife Canada President Pierre Petelle applauded the passing of Bill C-30, stating that the agriculture sector has long called for innovation-friendly rules that allow Canadian farmers to remain globally competitive against climate and pest pressures.
The law is expected to take effect later this summer as the government moves toward implementation.
