Our Forest Conservation campaigner, Tracy Glynn, appeared in the media this week following our call to phase out the use of herbicides in our Crown forest.
Earlier this month, the International Centre for Research on Cancer, a branch of the World Health Organization, classified glyphosate – the active ingredient in the herbicide sprayed annually in New Brunswick – as a probably cancer-causing chemical.
Beyond public health concerns, Glynn told Catherine Harrop of CBC News that there are several strong reasons for ending the spraying of herbicides on our Crown forest.
“We’re also wiping out the diversity of our forests, we’re getting rid of hardwoods, and the berries and that vegetation that is food for our wildlife too,” Glynn said.
She went on to say the government could create good jobs by replacing the use of herbicides with thinning crews, as Quebec has done since banning herbicides in its public forest in 2001.
Read the web article here, or click here to watch the video segment that ran in the evening news.
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CBC’s Information Morning in Fredericton also talked about glyphosates on Thursday, April 2. Host Terry Seguin spoke with Dr. John McLaughlin, a member of the IARC’s scientific panel. Listen to the interview here.
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Newspaper L’Acadie Nouvelle ran an article on glyphosate on Wednesday, April 1. The article noted that the provincial government will not phase out herbicide use at this time as it is still deemed a safe chemical by Health Canada. Read the story here.