Pesticide Laws and Forever Chemicals Poison Public Health Systems
June 29, 2026
Canadian and Australian regulators are bypassing environmental evidence to authorize toxic weedkillers and banned pesticides, prioritizing industrial agribusiness output over rural community safety. Meanwhile, the discovery of PFAS hotspots in Ontario and silicosis surges in the US quartz industry reveal a widening gap between corporate material extraction and the state's capacity to manage the resulting health catastrophes. These systemic failures force citizens toward class-action litigation and mutual aid as institutional protections for food, water, and labor collapse.
-
BRIEF
Weakened pesticide protections will threaten food security, public and environmental health
Bill C-30's authorization of the use of banned pesticides allows political and economic interests to override health and environmental evidence.
-
BRIEF
Cheap, effective and dangerous: how Australian farmers came to depend on the toxic weedkiller paraquat
Richard Hamilton Smith/Getty It is illegal to use paraquat in at least 74 jurisdictions worldwide, including the European Union, China, Malaysia, Brazil and, most recently, the US state of Vermont. But today, Australia’s chemical regulator gave this effective but highly toxic herbicide the green lig…
- all
-
BRIEF
North Bay’s PFAS problem: 5 things to know about a ‘forever chemicals’ hotspot in Ontario
In a small northern city, citizens have launched a class-action lawsuit over decades-old PFAS pollution. The city and federal government, meanwhile, are working on a $122-million clean-up
-
BRIEF
Who asked for pesticide policy changes included in the Liberal fiscal update law?
Bill 30 implemented measures from the spring economic update, and one unrelated measure changing pesticide laws
-
BRIEF
As communities face more frequent hazard warnings, we need better systems to avoid ‘emergency fatigue’
Ben Strang/AFP via Getty Images Earlier this month, Wellington declared a local state of emergency, including evacuation orders, when forecast powerful swells threatened to inundate coastal properties. Hundreds of people evacuated, but when the damage and inundation remained limited, mainstream and…
- all
-
BRIEF
Quartz countertops are driving a public health crisis in the US – 2 occupational health experts explain the surge of lung transplants and lawsuits
Engineered stone, also called quartz, has become the most popular material for kitchen countertops. Guillermo Spelucin Runciman/iStock/Getty Images Plus If you walk into a Costco, Home Depot or Lowe’s and order a countertop for your kitchen renovation, the store will likely contract with a local fab…
- all