Face of Nation : Montreal plans to ban the use of glyphosate — a commonly used herbicide marketed primarily under the trade name Roundup — by the end of the year. In 2015, a World Health Organization agency determined glyphosate is a probable carcinogen.
Coun. Laurence Lavigne-Lalonde, the executive committee member in charge of urban agriculture, said that classification means there is no longer “any reason not to protect the health of Montrealers and farmers who use this product.”
“Failing to act would be irresponsible,” she said. She said Mayor Valérie Plante’s administration hopes the gesture will inspire other Quebec municipalities to follow suit.
In 2015, the City of Montreal banned neonicotinoid pesticides in an effort to protect bees. That bylaw will be amended, extending the ban to glyphosate. Plante’s administration is concerned about the quality of soil and the levels glyphosate found in food and waterways.
Montreal is following Austria and Vietnam, the countries banned glyphosate earlier this year. Germany announced Wednesday that it will do the same at the end of 2023.
The effort to ban the substance in France by 2021 has stalled but, regardless, Lavigne-Lalonde said Montreal is part of a movement. “We think we need to push people to think about this issue and take concrete action,” she said.
That decision sparked plenty of backlash, as opponents say lobbyists for the parent company Bayer are influencing decision makers.
Glyphosate is one of the most common herbicides used in the world, is in more than 130 products sold in Canada and has widespread use by farmers to keep weeds out of their crops. Under Quebec law, municipalities can ban the use of chemicals, but not their sale.
Banning glyphosate use in the province’s largest city is a step in the right direction, says Thibault Rehn, co-ordinator of Villigance OGM.
The Quebec-based group advocates for awareness surrounding pesticide use and genetically modified organisms (GMOs). Rehn said he hopes the province will take action against glyphosate by either banning it entirely or, at the very least, restricting its use to protect citizens.
“We would like that all the cities in Quebec do the same [as Montreal],” he said. “We want the government of Quebec to ban this product.”
