Good Sunday Morning!
Meanwhile, as you know, in every week’s newsletter I like to share important journalism that does not make it to the mainstream news. This exceptionally good expose from the National Observer is one such story that should be gaining more attention. It is a blow-by-blow description of how Canada’s pesticide regulators colluded with industry to undermine a Canadian scientist!
“The federal pesticide regulator collaborated with an agrochemical giant to undermine research by a prominent Canadian scientist to stave off an impending ban of a class of pesticides harmful to human brains and sperm and deadly to bees, insects and birds, Canada’s National Observer has found.
“Water sampling data collected on the Prairies by Christy Morrissey, a Canadian ecologist and University of Saskatchewan professor, helped form the basis for a national ban, proposed in 2016, on imidacloprid and two other related neonicotinoid pesticides used on corn, soybeans, potatoes and other crops.
“Unbeknownst to Morrissey at the time, the decision to nix the proposed ban was based in part on a scant replication of her research conducted by the giant pesticide company Bayer Crop Science—with full support from federal officials in Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), at Environment and Climate Change Canada, and at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.
“Morrissey was stunned. ‘I couldn’t understand how the government flip-flopped from the ban,’ she told Canada’s National Observer. ‘We had all the data, and the levels we found all exceed the levels of concern. I didn’t understand how they got to their decision.’
“Critics were furious, slamming the decision as inadequate to tackle the chemicals’ environmental risk, which the PMRA had noted in the 2016 document proposing the ban was ‘not sustainable.’
“Used both as a seed treatment and sprayed on fields while crops are growing, neonics leach into soil, snowmelt and runoff then wash out of fields and into streams and wetlands, where they kill insects—including pollinators—and can contaminate water supplies. Those ecological harms have led to stringent restrictions or bans on neonic use in the E.U. and some U.S. states, and a partial ban in Quebec.
Elsewhere in Canada, neonics remain widely used by farmers, albeit with a few new restrictions.
The imidacloprid revelations come on the heels of several recent investigations by Canada’s National Observer into the regulator’s transparency and independence from industry that have left critics skeptical of its ability to protect Canadians and the environment from harmful pesticides…
Morrissey’s story has left other scientists working on public health and environmental issues spooked that they could be the next targets…”
As I write this, the polls are open and we are still working to get out the vote. I was waving Green signs in the rain earlier today, but mostly spent the day warm and dry phoning people to urge them to get out and vote!
I had a busy week campaigning in British Columbia and in New Brunswick. Monday October 21st is Election Day…
We had a very successful set of events in Shediac, the Moncton area and several Fredericton campaigns on Tuesday and Wednesday. I was the only federal party leader to campaign in the writ period in NB, a point that made headlines in the Telegraph Journal.
“May holds one of only two Green seats in the House of Commons and hopes the New Brunswick Greens will win more than three seats this time in the 49-seat provincial legislature. She said provincial Green Leader David Coon has a good chance of holding the balance of power after Monday’s vote, preferring to call it a “balance of responsibilities.” She thinks minority governments are the best kind of regimes, as they are more collaborative.
“May smiled when asked why the other federal leaders hadn’t shown up.
”’It’s unusual,’ she said while campaigning with Coon at the university. ‘The Conservatives must think Poilievre won’t sell in the Maritimes, or he’d be here. And the Liberals must know that Justin Trudeau is an anchor around all of them, so there’s that. And as for Jagmeet Singh, there’s really not an NDP presence in New Brunswick. So given that the Greens are surging in New Brunswick, there’s no surprise that I’d be here.’
So to the news here at home. No doubt many BC Greens are heartbroken that our inspirational leader, Sonia Furstenau, did not win the seat she was vying for in Victoria Beacon Hill. She displayed her extraordinary heart and deep faith in joy as she thanked her team and her family. Still the news was mixed. As the results dribble in, the question of which party will form government it is still too close to call. To have a majority government 47 seats are required. As I write this the NDP have 46 seats and the John Rustad Conservatives have 45. Greens stand at two. That math means we have the balance of responsibility! We are likely to come out of the election with two new Green MLAs. Rob Botterrell has won the seat that was Green with Adam Olsen. We can continue to be a double Green riding in Saanich-Gulf Islands. The other seat is a big win! Jeremy Valeriote is leading at this point. He is likely to become the first BC Green, federally or provincially, to win a seat outside of Vancouver Island. Jeremy’s win in West Vancouver-Sea to Sky is a huge sign of our momentum. It encourages me for winning federally in the same area. I hope all BC Greens will encourage Sonia Furstenau to remain our leader. She can win a seat next time, but we need her voice. And we need her leadership.
Thanks to all who worked so hard in this election. Fingers crossed for NB Greens and tomorrow’s election!
A little reminder. The Saskatchewan voters go to the polls on October 27 and they can accept out of province donations. Please send them what you can—saskgreens.ca. The Saskatchewan Green Party has 58 candidates on the ballot in the 2024 Saskatchewan General Election. Of those 58 candidates, 27 are Indigenous or Métis people. They are so valiant!
Have a great week, sending love and gratitude for all your support!
Elizabeth