Health Canada is resuming evaluations of acceptable increases to pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs), a June 20 news release said. The government is also eliminating the use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes on federal lands.
“Pesticides are part of the toolbox agricultural producers use to protect their crops from pests and contribute to their productivity. The measures announced by our government today help to ensure responsible access, framed by reliable data, to these essential inputs, while protecting health and the environment,” Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal minister of agriculture and agri-food, said in the release.
Health Canada has also launched the external Scientific Advisory Committee (SAC) for pest control products and consulted key stakeholders on a transition to a continuous oversight approach and systematic review of emerging science, the release said.
The release noted the next steps are aligned with Canada’s commitment to implementing the 2022 Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to halt and reverse biodiversity loss. This framework includes a focus on reducing the overall risk from pesticides by at least half by 2030.
“Real-world data is critical to enhancing our understanding of the impacts of pesticides on the environment. By increasing monitoring and research on this issue, and eliminating the unnecessary use of pesticides for cosmetic purposes on federal lands, the Government of Canada is taking important first steps to support its commitments under the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework,” Steven Guilbeault, minister of environment and climate change Canada, said in the release.
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