On November 27, the so-called “public” consultation carried out by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) ends: “Guide to determine when an animal feed ingredient of plant origin requires an evaluation prior to release on the market “. Under this nebulous title lies the controversial issue of new GMOs (GMOs resulting from genome editing). The result is new regulations for agrochemical manufacturers, who see it as a golden opportunity to sell ever more GMOs and associated pesticides. You read correctly: we are going “towards worse” and, the icing on the cake, we are going there by following the choreography well orchestrated by the industry. Our organization having followed this matter for more than two years, we will try to summarize it for you as best we can.
It is important to remember that this consultation is the last in a series of three relating to new GMOs. The one on health (led by Health Canada) and the one on the environment (led by the CFIA) have already taken place. Both resulted in deregulation of new GMOs, leaving companies to “self-regulate”.
The purpose of this latest consultation is therefore to validate — a third time — that the government does not intend to require compulsory evaluation of new GMOs before they are placed on the market nor to establish traceability of these products. . Let’s be precise: for this last point, the industry has “the choice” to be transparent or not, this is the grotesque new concept of voluntary transparency.
Let us also remember that this impossibility of traceability undermines the entire organic sector in Canada since its specifications prohibit the use of any type of GMO.
The day before the launch of these consultations, the so-called “Tiger Team” scandal came to light. In these revelations, resulting from several access to information requests, we learned that the government (Health Canada and the CFIA) had worked hand in hand with the GMO industry to co-write the new regulatory directions before releasing them. submit to public consultations! Widely covered by the media, this information aroused great indignation on the part of Quebecers, but then, however, nothing.
The charade still runs, driven by the government’s indifference.
These are the very foundations of our democratic systems that continue to crumble. Indeed, when private interests (here the increase in the sale of GMOs and pesticides) come before the general interest, that is to say the protection of the health of citizens and that of the environment, it is the primary mission of our institutions that is being diverted.
This phenomenon has a very specific name: regulatory capture.
The former Minister of Agriculture, Marie-Claude Bibeau, told us well: “trust the transparency of the industry”, so why worry? We should move on. Hop there, there is nothing to see.
It’s strange, but we don’t subscribe to this blind trust in an industry with multiple scandals. Agent Orange, dioxin, growth hormones, glyphosate…, the list goes on. Tobacco sellers knew the danger of their products, fossil fuel industries had predicted climate change as early as the 1950s. Let’s not be fooled, the same is true for the pesticide and GMO industry. This is what the Monsanto Papers revealed.
Without transparency, there can be no trust from farmers or consumers. The slope here is very slippery, and the credibility of Health Canada and the CFIA has already been damaged. We warn the government, because regaining the trust of the population is an arduous task. The observation is that our institutions are transparent only through the big tricks of the lobbies who manipulate their orientations.
In addition, records obtained through access to information requests reveal that Health Canada initially recommended, as we do, the establishment of mandatory government oversight and transparency for all new GMOs. These recommendations will have been swept away by pressure from lobbies.
Under these conditions, we will not participate in this final round of consultation as we usually do. Following the Tiger Team’s revelations, we will let the government know that we demand to reinstate evaluation and traceability of all GMOs in Canada.
There is still time to turn back.