Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.
My name is Hugo Séguin. I am the Public Affairs Coordinator for Équiterre, an organization based in Montreal and involved since 1993 in sustainable development issues and problems, and their solutions. We have been particularly active in matters related to agriculture, energy, transportation, sustainable development and climate change. We are also very interested in the issue of pesticides, and have been involved in this area for several years now.
This morning I am accompanied by two researchers, one from the David Suzuki Foundation and one from Équiterre, which I represent, and by Mr. William Amos, a lawyer for Ecojustice Canada, who represents both Équiterre and the David Suzuki Foundation in this case.
This morning I would like to take a few minutes to talk to you about the substance of a case that we think is extremely important because it involves two fundamental governance issues for Canada: on the one hand, its commitment to comply with the international trade treaties it has signed in the past, including NAFTA; and on the other hand, its responsibility to protect public health, especially the health of children.
On the 25th of August last, Dow AgroSciences corporation served notice that it would challenge under NAFTA the application of the Quebec Pesticides Management Code, and in particular the ban on the active ingredient, 2,4-D, which is used as one of the ingredients in pesticides available on the market, among other reasons for the cosmetic purposes of lawn maintenance. Dow claims that this ban violates certain clauses in chapter 11 of the North American Free Trade Agreement. The Government of Quebec, which has the constitutional jurisdiction to act in the area of pesticides sales and use, is arguing the importance of protecting public health. For that reason it has banned a certain number of active ingredients used in the formulation of pesticides.
The Quebec Pesticide Management Code has been in effect since 2003. The ban on 20 active ingredients in pesticides has been in effect since 2006. For example, the Pesticide Management Code applies to turfed areas, including areas used frequently by children. Public health studies seem to show that children are exposed to even greater health risks when they play in parks, schoolyards or day care yards. Quebec has justified its actions on those grounds. I should say in passing that Quebec is not the only jurisdiction in the world to ban 2,4-D or other pesticides. This is also the case in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Ontario where some pesticides have been banned, including 2,4-D.
As in the other jurisdictions that I just listed, Quebec has justified its actions based on the precautionary principle, which says that in the absence of scientific certainty about pesticide toxicity, caution must be exercised in their use. That is the very basis of the precautionary principle.
According to the Quebec government, pesticides used for cosmetic purposes can pose a risk to human health, especially the health of children. According to the Quebec government, children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of pesticides because of their behaviour (for example, their tendency to put objects in their mouth), especially when they are playing on grassed surfaces where pesticides are used. Among other things, several pesticides, some of which are frequently used on grassed surfaces, are suspected of having long-term health effects, including cancer or disruptions to the reproductive, endocrine, immune or nervous systems.
In the specific case of 2,4-D, Quebec's National Public Health Institute twice took a stand on this issue and recommended to the Government of Quebec to ban the active ingredient 2,4-D based on the precautionary principle. The National Public Health Institute is the Quebec government's main advisor on public health issues. Furthermore, the National Public Health Institute's recommendations are also based on studies carried out by the International Agency for Cancer Research, a World Health Organization Centre, that labelled the entire family of active ingredients called chlorophenoxy herbicides, which includes 2,4-D, as being potentially carcinogenic for humans.
Following action taken by Dow on August 25, Équiterre and various other partners mobilized Canadian and Quebec civil society. Currently a hundred-odd organizations and individuals, both national and international, support our action to ask the federal government to protect the integrity of Quebec's Pesticides Management Code. A letter was sent to that effect to the Minister of International Trade, Mr. Stockwell Day, to encourage him to ensure that Canada would actively intervene before a future NAFTA panel on public health protection.
In conclusion, we want to take this opportunity this morning to share with you our three recommendations for the Government of Canada.
Our first recommendation is that the federal government should vigorously defend before NAFTA Quebec's ban on 2,4-D pesticides. Furthermore, the federal Minister of International Trade should immediately and publicly announce Canada's intentions in this regard and acknowledge the appropriate precautionary basis for Quebec, and now Ontario's position.
Our second recommendation is that the federal government should state the position that non-discriminatory regulatory measures enacted for a public purpose in accordance with due process are not, under international law, expropriations or unfair treatment. As such, such regulatory measures are not subject to any compensation.
Finally, the federal government should ensure more robust application of the precautionary principle in PMRA risk assessments of pesticides.
I will now give the floor to Mr. Amos, who will cover various related issues concerning trade rules under NAFTA.