MINDEMOYA—A Little Current resident has called on Manitoulin Municipal Association (MMA) members to declare themselves unwilling hosts for the application of glyphosate on all roadsides, municipal right-of-ways, and utility stations by the Ministry of Transportation (MTO) and Hydro One and their contractors.
“To the chair and members of the MMA, thank you for the opportunity to make this presentation regarding the application of glyphosate on our Island,” stated Zak Nicholls of Little Current at an MMA meeting last week. “Glyphosate is a chemical that has been linked to many health concerns for humans and for other life in the natural environment. There have been numerous recent lawsuits in which people have been awarded extraordinary cash settlements for injuries tied to their exposure to glyphosate.”
Glyphosate is currently being applied by the Ministry of Transportation Ontario (MTO), Hydro One, and their contractors on Manitoulin Island roadways, rights-of-way and stations, said Mr. Nicholls.
“Gathering information from MTO and their contractors foe glyphosate application is a laborious endeavour,” Mr. Nicholls told the MMA. “Often the information is incomplete, difficult to understand, and often not provided at all. MTO often fails to properly notify the public when and where spraying has occurred, placing the public at risk. MTO has applied glyphosate in conditions that are not indicated, such as over water, before rain, during wind events and at temperatures that are too hot or too cold.”
“Glyphosate application is funded by tax and rate payers,” stated Mr. Nicholls. “We should have a say in how our money is spent, especially when our health and the natural environment is being affected. We are already facing numerous health care crises in our community. There is also the possibility of municipalities being named in civil liability cases for those who might become ill due to glyphosate application in the community.”
Mr. Nicholls told the MMA that there have been a number of stories locally detailing the loss of bees, including one from a Tehkummah resident who tested her dead bees at the University of Guelph, finding glyphosate levels twice that which is considered safe for human consumption.
“Also, on September 10, Temagami First Nation experienced a glyphosate spill,” said Mr. Nicholls. “Six hundred litres of the concentrated herbicide was released from an overturned truck. As a result, a substantial cleanup effort has been undertaken. TFN has advised against harvesting plants and animals in a zone measuring 12 kilometres in diameter from the spill site.”
“Other measures can be taken to deal with foliage rather than the dispersal of chemicals,” said Mr. Nicholls, noting manual maintenance, natural products or livestock could be utilized.
“I am proposing that the MMA pass a motion to be taken back to member communities asking that Manitoulin Island municipalities be considered unwilling hosts for the application of glyphosate products on all roadsides, municipal rights-of-way and utility stations by the MTO, and Hydro One and their contractors,” said Mr. Nicholls.
“Is it not a federally regulated product, and municipalities can say no to them being used in their community?” asked Ken Noland, reeve of Burpee and Mills Township.
Mr. Nicholls said “Legally, glyphosate can be applied, and that is why I am asking the MMA and its municipalities to be unwilling hosts to glyphosate.”
