Mr. Speaker, I am talking about health issues and cancer, and to be heckled by Conservatives over fundamental health issues is a disgrace.
Glyphosate in Canada is the most widely-sold pesticide. It is used in forestry to kill unwanted target trees and vegetation, and as a herbicide on right-of-way commercial and residential grounds, golf courses, schools and other landscapes. The result is that residents, including infants and children, consume glyphosate residues in their food and water and are exposed to it while outdoors for recreation, occupational activities, hunting and harvesting.
The use of glyphosate harms aquatic and terrestrial species and causes a loss of biodiversity, thereby making ecosystems more vulnerable to pollution and climate change. It endangers pollinators, including wild bees and monarch butterflies, and exacerbates wildfires, since conifer-only forests burn faster and hotter than mixed forests.
In 2015, the World Health Organization's International Agency for Research on Cancer classified glyphosate as probably carcinogenic to humans.
The petitioners, residents of Canada, call on the Minister of Health to: first, ban the sale and use of glyphosate to protect human health and the environment; and second, develop a comprehensive plan to reduce overall pesticide use in Canada.