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Leader of the People’s Alliance party, Rick DeSaulniers, says he and his party are concerned about recent reports that elevated levels of herbicides and other toxins including glyphosate have been found in the lab results of New Brunswick patients suffering severe and sometimes unexplained illness.
Health Canada has declared glyphosate safe for humans in very small amounts. It is Canada’s most widely used herbicide in agricultural and non-agricultural land management, per Canada.ca.
Despite Health Canada’s declaration, the World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has declared glyphosate to be “probably carcinogenic to humans,” and it is currently banned in several countries, including Mexico, Denmark, France, Italy, Austria, Belgium, and Vietnam, to name just a few. Many US States have also enacted full or partial bans on its use.
The People’s Alliance has called for a complete ban on the spraying of glyphosate on Crown Lands in NB as far back as 2015, and in 2018 was the only party in the province to have this promise as a part of their election platform.
Leading up to the 2020 election, pressure from the public and advocacy group “Stop Spraying New Brunswick” resulted in both the Green Party and the Liberal party adopting similar positions, with some candidates going so far as to sign pledges to fight against its use if elected. The PC party did not agree to an outright ban but did agree to “review” the use of glyphosate. The Minister of Energy and Natural Resources later agreed to “reduce” its use but not halt it, citing the financial impact on those using it for his reasoning.
While we stress that no conclusions have been made regarding what, if any, role is or is not played by glyphosate on the health of any person in New Brunswick, we have long believed that the risk is just too significant to take, says DeSaulniers.
“There’s no guarantee that eating a Tide Pod will kill you, but we know it’s risky. I’m not willing to give one to my kids, are you”?