Canadian Charity Safe Food Matters Goes Back to Court Over Glyphosate
On January 22, 2025, Safe Food Matters (SFM) will return to court, continuing its fight against the use of glyphosate in Canada.
This case focuses on the 5-year renewal of a pesticide product called Mad Dog Plus, and Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s (PMRA) failure to evaluate new scientific studies on glyphosate’s risks (health and environmental) when granting product renewals.
The Issue at Hand
Mad Dog Plus is widely used on crops, forests and industrial and recreational areas. Its agricultural applications include pre-harvest spraying on wheat, barley, oats, canola, peas, lentils, and other staple crops. This very practice was a key focus of Safe Food Matters’ original lawsuit challenging PMRA’s 2017 decision to register glyphosate.
Despite presenting PMRA with updated studies in 2022 highlighting new risks, the agency failed to demonstrate that it considered this evidence when renewing the product. Instead, PMRA relies on its original evaluation of glyphosate’s safety—a decision that remains under active challenge in SFM’s ongoing original lawsuit.
“PMRA’s reliance on a contested registration decision for Mad Dog Plus is emblematic of its pattern of rubber-stamping renewals without assessing new science,” said Mary Lou McDonald, Safe Food Matters’ president.
Why This Matters
Glyphosate is one of the most widely used pesticides in Canada, and its impact extends beyond agriculture. Represented by Ecojustice, Safe Food Matters and its coalition partners—including Environmental Defence, the David Suzuki Foundation and Friends of the Earth Canada—hope to set a precedent requiring PMRA to review new scientific findings when renewing pesticide products.
A win in this case could push for more rigorous evaluations, ensuring public health and environmental risks are properly assessed before products are approved for continued use.
Attend the Hearing
Safe Food Matters invites supporters to attend the hearing either in person or online:
Case Number: T-169-23 (Friends of the Earth Canada et al. v. AGC et al.)
Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2025
Time: 10:00 AM
Location: Federal Court, Toronto (180 Queen Street West, Suite 200), Room 5D (5th floor)
For those unable to attend in person, the hearing is also accessible via video conference. — You must register immediately.
https://www.fct-cf.gc.ca/en/court-files-and-decisions/hearing-lists
Join the Fight
To learn more about this case and the ongoing lawsuit against glyphosate registration (Case Nos. T-277-19 and T-2292-22), visit Safe Food Matters’ Filings Page. Stay informed and take action to support transparent and science-based pesticide regulations in Canada.