Letter: An open letter to Ministry of Forests
To the editor,
An open letter to the Ministry of Forests.
I do appreciate the invitation to comment on the PMP (Pest Management Plan) posted by the Ministry of Forests in the Jan 16th, 2025 Rocky Mountain Goat Newspaper. I also appreciate that aerial spraying is not a part of this particular plan. I have no appreciation, whatsoever, for the daunting list of potential herbicides that may be applied throughout our watersheds if this plan is actualized. I have concerns about toxic forever-chemicals accumulating in our groundwater and thus in our food chains which will ultimately end up as future cancer statistics in our overburdened Northern medical system. What reassurances are there that the continual application of such toxins into our environment are not a cumulative health risk? There is a great deal of documented public health evidence about the monumental risks to human health, wildlife, and water systems both in valid scientific studies and in the massive lawsuits that companies manufacturing glyphosate have lost. I have attached some brief examples below for your review. You can not say that you were not informed. Please do your research.
Who exactly made these decisions? Were there herbicide lobbyists with their ear? Which democratically elected MLAs approve of this process, not to mention these poisons? How much public funding is allotted to this program? How much time (money) is allotted to fully assess and respond appropriately to these comments? Is there a cost comparative analysis between chemical application and mechanical or biological control? What is the environmental cost of using these poisons? To continue with the Glyphosate example, it has proven to be carcinogenic. There have been over 100,000 legal cases against it and there is a $1.2 BILLION class action lawsuit pending in Canada. Glyphosate is water soluble,
non-selectively poisoning all but certain genetically modified crops, and afterwards stays in soils and waters until it toxifies more plants, animals, and humans. It was re-patented by Monsanto in 2010 as an antibiotic (against life). It kills beneficial bacteria and enhances the growth of pathogens. Is there a cost analysis including the potential of persistent carcinogenic chemicals compromising our health and thus our healthcare system? What are your biological control methods? Are all past chemically treated sites and the current proposed sites mapped and catalogued for future toxic remediation?
Such a procedure as this PMP exemplifies our cultural amnesia about our fundamental interrelationship
with the Earth’s ecosystems. This illusory sense of division manifests with us seeming to be autonomous
disconnected individuals. That’s a mental fabrication which plays well with the scientific reductionist
model that serves as the foundation of our exploitive, extractive, depletive, toxic economics, but it is a myth easily debunked if one only looks at it objectively.
If the invitation to comment is sincere in that the comments will be acknowledged and carefully considered, then perhaps some transparency and accountability should be forthcoming.
Glyphosate Lawsuits in North America
Bayer, which acquired Monsanto in 2018, has faced numerous lawsuits related to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, leading to significant financial costs. Here are some notable cases and their associated costs:
McKivison v. Monsanto: In January 2024, a Pennsylvania jury awarded $2.25 billion to John McKivison, who claimed Roundup caused his cancer. This verdict includes $2 billion in punitive damages.
Pilliod v. Monsanto: In August 2021, the California Supreme Court upheld a $87 million award to Alberta and Alva Pilliod, who alleged Roundup caused their cancer. Bayer’s challenge to this verdict was denied.
Caranci v. Monsanto: In October 2023, a retired restaurateur named Ernest Caranci was awarded $175 million for his cancer, which he attributed to Roundup use. This was part of a larger group of over 200 pending cases in Philadelphia.
Settlements: In 2020, Bayer settled most Roundup claims for $10.9 billion, addressing thousands of lawsuits across the United States.
In Canada, a class-action lawsuit was launched in 2023, seeking at least $1.2 billion from Bayer on behalf of Canadians who claim to have been harmed by Roundup. This lawsuit is the largest of its kind in Canada and follows individual lawsuits filed in various provinces such as British Columbia, Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba.
The total number of unresolved glyphosate lawsuit cases in North America is around 30,000, primarily in the United States, with ongoing litigation in Canada as well.
Rob Mercereau
(250) 569-7549
Dunster & Mcbride, B.C.
