A chemical and biotech lobby group is challenging regulations that allow farmers to import a lower cost American herbicide, saying the practice endangers Canada’s regulatory system.
“Our quarrel is not with the farmer; we totally understand the environment that they find themselves in,” said Lorne Hepworth, president of CropLife Canada.
“We just think in the short term and the long term, this (own-use import program) isn’t the right answer to the farm income problem.”
Farmers of North America president Jim Mann disagreed.
Mann said farmers saved more than $4,000 each this spring by using the own-use import program to buy ClearOut 41 Plus herbicide from the United States at a lower cost than Canadian registered products.
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Canadian herbicides can take up to 10 years to be approved, Hepworth said. Each one undergoes 160 vigorous tests to ensure the chemical’s safety. ClearOut 41 is not subject to Canadian testing, but does undergo an approval process.
Karen McCullagh, director of compliance laboratory services and operations at the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, said more than 4.5 million litres of ClearOut 41 Plus have been imported to date, but insisted there is no reason to be concerned.
“You can’t choose something that’s under re-evaluation or where we know that there is some sort of safety concern,” McCullagh said. “We don’t want to allow products into this program that are already problematic.”
Earlier this year as part of the approval process, ClearOut 41 was deemed chemically equivalent to registered glyphosate products. It can be imported into Canada only by farmers planning to use it on their own fields and if the use and safety is consistent with the label.
FNA has been helping farmers with the administrative work involved with own-use imports.
But Hepworth is concerned that companies will be reluctant to expand into Canada if they think the regulatory system can be bypassed.
“I think this will make the investment climate here in Canada that much more unwelcoming.”
Hepworth said he wonders why a company would spend millions of dollars researching a product in Canada when a foreign company can copy and export it.
He’s also concerned about handling and disposal because there is no Canadian registrant for ClearOut 41. CropLife normally collects unwanted and unused herbicide containers.
Mann said his organization, which has helped farmers import the herbicide, has a program designed for the safe transport of chemicals and the pick-up of empty containers.
McCullagh said this assistance was crucial for approval and the PMRA had few safety concerns.
“It seemed to be compatible and satisfactory in terms of a strategy to deal with empty containers.”
Jason Hodson, who farms near Virden, Man., used the own-use import program this year.
He said safety was better than usual because the product was delivered in a tote rather than individual jugs. Hodson said all he had to do was turn on a tap.
“This was another real benefit to buying in bulk. It was much safer to handle, I would say,” Hodson said.
“There’s much less risk of coming into contact with the chemical.”
However, he was concerned with the issue of compensation if the herbicide malfunctioned.
“The only concern I might have had was that some of the generic companies offer a warranty if the product doesn’t work.”
Hepworth said the burden of liability that farmers face with products such as ClearOut 41 is a valid concern.
“They end up having to assume all the risk and responsibility for the import, the handling, the use,” he said. “They’re liable for all loss or damage on crops, property, injury to people, occupational health and safety.”
He said his group has raised its concerns with the PMRA and hopes to see amendments to the regulation.
