Western Canadian Wheat Growers makes submission to PMRA’s review of Pest Control Products Act

Jul 08, 2022

The Western Canadian Wheat Growers (WCWG) has made its submission to the Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s review of the Pest Control Products Act.

In a news release, the organization says Canada’s pesticide regulatory system is one of the most robust science-based regulatory systems in the world, adding reviews of our regulatory systems should be done on a regular basis to ensure that the systems remain current and strong. WCWG adds that on August 4, 2021, the federal government paused a decision that put the science-based decision-making process on food security in jeopardy through political interference.

“We believe the Pest Control Products Act is fit for purpose and that added improvements and regulatory modernization can be achieved via updated guidance documents and internal policy implementation,” stated Gunter Jochum, President.

“We would support PMRA Program renewal with more transparent decision-making, more predictable risk assessment and the ability to bring in data earlier rather than modelling worst case scenarios. Science-based decisions must be the final recommendations, and not interfered with by politicians or bureaucrats,” added Jim Wickett, Secretary-Treasurer.

“The establishment of independent external advisors to essentially oversee the work of the PMRA is foolhardy at best and dangerous at worst. Such proposed changes could have a dramatic impact over how pesticides will be reviewed and administered in Canada over a long period of time,” noted Daryl Fransoo, Chair.

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Video: Learning to Wrench From Dad the Hard Way

Harvest is a week out and the farm picked this week to fall apart. The truck needs a battery, the barn curtain's got a problem, and the corn and beans are telling us we're out of time to get it all fixed.

So it's a full day of wrenching. Tork supervises while I get the truck back running, then we're out at the hog barn where one rusted up part has the whole curtain system hung up. Ladder work, cable work, and a little dad-and-son disagreement about the right way to do it. We close it out walking the fields, shelling beans and checking corn, because whether everything's fixed or not, harvest starts when harvest starts.

Chapters: 00:00 Everything breaks the week before harvest 01:00 Tork supervises while I fix the truck 12:30 Out to the barn to find the curtain problem 14:30 One rusty part hung up the whole curtain 20:00 Running the curtain cable from the ladder 24:00 Walking the beans and corn before harvest 26:30 Wrapping up

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