Public interest organizations are denouncing new laws that grant Cabinet the power to override the Health Minister and allow the use of banned pesticides like paraquat and DDT.
Bill C-30, an omnibus financial bill adopted in June 2026, contains changes to Canada’s Pest Control Products Act. This new law and a separate budget bill (Bill C-31) represent a massive restructuring of Canada’s pesticide regulatory system.
A long list of independent scientists and health and environmental organizations are calling for the new amendments to be repealed, noting that the federal government did not consult with Parliament’s health and environment committees or even give them time to study them.
Folding these unannounced changes into the omnibus bill provided political cover while the bill was rushed through to the final vote. The Senate committee charged with studying Bill C-30 noted, “Given the significance and potential repercussions” of the pesticide act amendments, they “should have warranted a separate study rather than being included in an omnibus bill.” But that didn’t happen.
“Why would Cabinet want to create holes in Canada’s food and agricultural legal fabric?”
The Pest Control Products Act (2002) was created to protect human health and the environment. However, the C-30 amendments grant Cabinet broad authority to overrule the Health Minister and permit the use of pesticides banned for unacceptable risks to people and the environment. The new amendments require Health Canada to consider “economic security” and “food security” when making decisions about pesticide registration, but fail to define what that means.
According to the National Farmers Union, Bill C-30 gives Cabinet “sweeping power to weaken oversight of Canada’s food, agriculture, health, and environment” and allows Cabinet to exempt “persons [including corporations], things, or activities” from any provision of these laws or regulations for up to six years if politicians say it is “necessary to protect national economic security, regional economic security, or national food security.”
The NFU points out that no definitions or parameters regarding “economic security,” “national food security,” or “unreasonable risk” are included in the bill, meaning this clause could be invoked by Cabinet for any reason. Thus, the new law politicizes the legal framework governing our food, health, and environmental safety, and invites self-interested corporations to lobby Cabinet members for exemptions that go against public safety. In a statement, the NFU asked, “Why would Cabinet want to create holes in Canada’s food and agricultural legal fabric?”
Bill C-30 comes in the wake of drastic cuts to Agriculture and Agri-food Canada’s research capacity – research that provides crucial information for regulatory decisions – and even more drastic cuts to Canadian Food Inspection Agency personnel. The CFIA’s Departmental Plan for the coming three years shows a nearly $80 million budget cut, and forecasts the loss of 1,627 full-time equivalent positions in 2029 compared with 2023.
CFIA’s personnel are key to prevention. They are on the front lines to detect problems and avert Canadian food and agriculture crises like avian flu and salmonella outbreaks.
More than two dozen organizations, including Ecojustice and Canadian Environmental Law Association, are calling on the government of Canada to revoke these changes before a new crisis erupts.
A parliamentary petition (e-7541) sponsored by Elizabeth May, calling for the amendments to be repealed, is open for signatures until Nov 7, 2026.
