Health Canada claws back requirement for industry to provide agricultural workers access to pesticides safety information

LEAMINGTON, Ontario and Traditional territories of several First Nations, June 11, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- (First Nations including the Caldwell, the Attiwonderonk, the Anishinabewaki, the Mississauga, and the Myaamia) -- United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW Canada) and Ecojustice are disappointed by Health Canada’s recent decision to reframe the rules and make providing pesticides safety information to agricultural workers entirely optional for employers.

Last year, UFCW Canada, represented by Ecojustice lawyers, launched a legal case challenging Health Canada’s failure to protect agricultural workers by not enforcing the safety data sheet requirements under the federal Pest Control Products Act (PCPA).

In June 2026, less than three weeks before the groups were expected to be in court for a hearing, the Government of Canada approved changes that will allow pesticides producers to skip the legal requirement to provide safety data sheets to agricultural farmworkers and instead make it voluntary — leaving these vulnerable workers unprotected by this basic safety requirement that applies broadly to other industrial sectors that use hazardous chemicals. Given the Government of Canada’s changes to the PCPA, UFCW Canada and Ecojustice have discontinued the legal challenge and will explore other avenues to continue to push for protections for agricultural workers.

Safety data sheets follow international standards and include essential safety information on the toxic properties of chemicals, first aid, and formulants (i.e., other ingredients) contained in products.

Without access to critical information about the chemicals they are handling, agricultural workers are unable to protect themselves from hazardous pesticides at work. Removing the requirement puts the health of agricultural workers, especially migrant farm workers, at unnecessary risk.

The changes to the PCPA’s requirement regarding safety data sheets come as the federal government attempts to pass the largest overhaul of pesticides protections in Canada in a generation through budget bills C-30 and C-31.

Ian Miron, Ecojustice lawyer said: “Health Canada had an easy option on the table: enforce the existing provisions under the PCPA and ensure agricultural workers exposed to workplace hazards are afforded the same protections as those in other sectors. But it chose the opposite.

“By making it optional for pesticides producers to provide safety data sheets, Health Canada is leaving agricultural workers, who are often migrant workers, without access to critical information about the chemicals they are handling and increasing the risk that they may face on-the-job health harms without knowing it. This is an unequitable burden that adds to the inadequate labour and immigration protections that make it even more difficult for migrant farmworkers to protect themselves from toxic chemicals at work.”

Barry Sawyer, National President, UFCW Canada said: "Our union has fought for improved working conditions for migrant agricultural workers for decades, and we are deeply disappointed by Health Canada's decision to make safety data sheets optional for employers. Worker information requirements for dangerous chemicals are standard in every industry except for agriculture, where farm workers are continuously exposed to hazardous and dangerous chemicals in the workplace without adequate training or protection. This recent decision exposes vulnerable migrant agricultural workers to unnecessary risk."

About

Ecojustice uses the power of the law to combat climate change, defend nature, and fight for a healthy environment. Its strategic, public interest lawsuits and advocacy lead to precedent-setting court decisions, law and policy that deliver lasting solutions to Canada’s most urgent environmental problems. As Canada’s largest environmental law charity, Ecojustice operates offices in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa and Halifax.

UFCW Canada (the United Food and Commercial Workers Union) represents more than 255,000 members across Canada working in every sector of the food industry from field to table. For 30 years, UFCW Canada has been the leading voice of, and advocate for, domestic and migrant agricultural workers.

For media inquiries

Rosemary Quinsey, National representative | UFCW Canada
rosemary.quinsey@ufcw.ca, 647-475-8483 

Venetia Jones, Associate director of strategic communications | Ecojustice
vjones@ecojustice.ca, 613-903-5898 ext. 714

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