A helicopter sprays product
Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
The use of glyphosate, a widely applied herbicide in Canadian forest management, remains a contentious issue, igniting debates over health, environmental impact, and Indigenous rights.
It has also fanned theories about governments deliberately exacerbating wildfire potential to promote climate change narratives.
Forestry companies in provinces like Ontario, British Columbia, and Alberta rely on aerial spraying of glyphosate—marketed as Roundup—to control broadleaf vegetation and promote conifer growth on thousands of hectares of Crown land annually.
Health Canada’s 2017 re-evaluation deemed it safe when used per label instructions, yet growing opposition challenges this stance, spotlighting a divide between industry practices and public concerns.
Recent protests underscore the controversy. In northeastern Ontario, Serpent River First Nation member Jenifer Brousseau told CBC News on August 18, 2025, “It’s kind of scary because I don’t know where I can gather anymore,” reflecting fears about contaminated berries and medicines due to glyphosate spraying.
On August 14, about 100 people rallied along the Trans-Canada Highway to oppose the practice, with Elder Allan McDonald of Garden River First Nation asking CBC, “Why is it that Ontario can’t follow suit?”—referencing Quebec’s 2001 ban on glyphosate in forestry.
Nova Scotia’s approval of spraying 3,577 acres in drought-stricken forests, reported by the Halifax Examiner on August 14, has further fuelled outrage, with critics citing heightened wildfire risks.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer labels glyphosate “probably carcinogenic,” a claim Health Canada disputes, citing extensive studies.
Indigenous leaders, like Chief Wilfred King of Gull Lake First Nation, told Indigenous Watchdog on July 4, 2025, “This is a very poisonous substance, impacting not only the health of our citizens but the animals we eat.”
As protests grow and Quebec’s manual thinning success contrasts with ongoing spraying, the debate intensifies, with calls for a nationwide moratorium gaining traction.