Comment on Canada’s 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy

Comment on Canada’s 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy, for the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and future legislation.

Below is a call to comment from Prevent Cancer Now, with whom Environmental Health Trust collaborates on numerous issues from human health to wildlife.

The Milestone consultation version of Canada’s 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy states:

The science is clear: nature is in trouble. Biodiversity is declining faster than at any time in human history. When we lose nature, we jeopardize the things we rely on and often take for granted: clean air and water, flood regulation, food security, pollination, and the foundation for much of our economy.

Please take the time to comment on the shaping of Canada’s 2030 National Biodiversity Strategy, for the upcoming Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), and future legislation.

We’re prioritizing two pollutants — pesticides, and modern non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation. Harming many species, pollution levels continue to increase despite our promise to bend the curve.

Your voice makes a difference! In 2023 Canadians spoke up about electromagnetic fields (EMFs) impacting biodiversity, and the federal government heard! EMFs are now mentioned in the Milestone document, on priorities and means to protect biodiversity.

It will open in your email program. You can replace this submission or change it in any way you wish. Once it’s open click here to go to “Next Steps”, below.

(If the button does not open your mail software, click here for all the needed elements to cut and paste into a mail message.)

Canada committed to 50% reduction of pesticides risks by 2030, but registrations of hazardous pesticides are going up, and more potent mixtures are being permitted. Canada’s Biodiversity Strategy should include:

• Support for farmers to learn and adopt practices and strategies of organic, regenerative agriculture;
• A nation-wide shift to least-toxic approaches for landscaping and forestry, building on examples in Ontario and Quebec;
• Robust data, transparent methods and public accountability, to track pesticide use, water contamination, and risk reduction in meaningful ways;
• Stronger regulation with comparative assessments, to replace higher risk products and mixtures with safer solutions (chemical and otherwise);
• Stronger regulation to ban highest risk pesticides, as well as to protect the environment and vulnerable human populations (e.g., children and the unborn, workers, and individuals with health conditions that bring higher risks of adverse effects); and
• Enforcement of lower Canadian maximum residue limits for foods rather than adopting higher foreign contamination limits that accommodate greater pesticide use;
• Recognition that pesticide-coated seeds, genetically modified organisms and gene-based pesticides pose threats to biodiversity as well as organic agriculture and farmers’ right to save seed, so they must be factored into Canada’s CBD commitment.

We are delighted that responses to the 2023 Biodiversity Survey elevated anthropogenic (man-made) EMFs to the Milestone consultation! This is a rare chance to advance protecting all life forms from EMF pollution from telecommunications and other equipment emitting non-ionizing radiation.

Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) already knows this is a concern! Following a Parliamentary hearing, ECCC scientist Dr. Kim Fernie prepared the report Canadian Environmental Protection Act (1999): Considerations of electromagnetic fields (radiation) and biota. She concluded:

Across Canada, increased urban development and an increased reliance on new technologies is likely increasing EMF exposure of wildlife through additional power lines, telecommunications networks, and new technologies (e.g., 4G, 5G). It is conceivable that the RF-EMFs from power lines, telecommunication networks and technologies, may become or already are an environmental stressor to exposed wildlife, in conjunction with other, widely recognized environmental stressors that can affect wildlife, e.g., habitat destruction, climate change, chemical pollutants, heavy metals, among others. The potential of increasing EMF exposure as a contributing or confounding factor to adverse changes in wildlife, in conjunction with recognized environmental stressors, should be considered.

1. Add your MP’s email address.

This starter draft is addressed to the Milestone biodiversity consultation, and copied to the Ministers of Agriculture and Agri-Food, Health, Industry, and Environment and Climate Change, as well as opposition parties’ critics. Add your own MP, and if you like Prevent Cancer Now would appreciate a blind copy. You can add or remove any recipients.

2. Use a catchy subject line. Your own would be great, or here are some ideas.

• Including pesticides and EMFs in Canada’s Biodiversity Strategy
• Tackling two pollutants in Canada’s Biodiversity Strategy
• Canada’s Biodiversity Strategy must address pesticides AND EMFs
• Safer telecommunications, and sustainable agriculture — essential for biodiversity and food supplies

3. Body of your letter

Be sure to include your contact information, and address and postal code at the bottom so the government knows you are a resident, and your MP knows you are their constituent.

Add an Introduction — Share a bit about who you are and what is personally motivating you to write about the importance of pesticides and/or wireless radiation in the environment.

Main Points — Use, edit or replace the text in the “starter” email. What matters is that you are writing to your government officials and sharing your concerns.

Here are some more ideas you could include in your email:

On Pesticides:

Edit and add to the email content. You could share your experiences with growing and pest control, and concerns regarding pesticides. Here are some more issues to consider.

• Enforcement of lower Canadian maximum residue limits for foods, rather than adopting higher foreign contamination limits;
• Strengthening of regulations to protect the environment as well as vulnerable human populations (e.g., children and the unborn, workers, and individuals with health conditions that bring higher risks of adverse effects); and
• Recognition that pesticide-coated seeds, genetically modified organisms and gene-based pesticides pose threats to biodiversity, as well as organic agriculture and farmers’ right to save seed, so they must be better regulated, and factored into Canada’s Strategy.

On Wireless Radiation:

Congratulate the government — express your support for recognition of man-made EMFs in the Milestone document. Share your experiences, observations and concerns.

• Emphasize that EMFs must be addressed in Canada’s Biodiversity Strategy. We cannot afford to miss this important factor among interacting harmful exposures.
• Describe briefly your solutions to reduce levels and to protect against harms from man-made EMFs, at home and in your community.
  • your wired solutions
  • minimizing radiation from use of wireless connections

4. Conclusion

Express thanks for the opportunity to share, and reinforce your most important point.

Again, be sure to include your contact information, and address and postal code at the bottom, so they know you are a resident, and your MP knows you are their constituent.

If you don’t hear back from your MP, you can leave a phone message.

When you do receive a response from your MP, WRITE TO THEM AGAIN, referencing their letter and reiterating your concerns and views. These second letters have a powerful impact in terms of how politicians assess the level of public concern about specific issues!

Prevent Cancer Now wants to help. You can email us at: info@preventcancernow.ca

THANK YOU for taking action on this essential issue that is impacting all of us, by making your voice heard.