Health Canada announces members of the new Science Advisory Committee on Pest Control Products

he Government of Canada takes pesticide safety very seriously, and it is working to ensure an open and inclusive process in the areas of safety, transparency and sustainability. Today, Health Canada, officially named the nine members of the recently formed Science Advisory Committee on Pest Control Products (SAC-PCP).

The nomination process for the committee launched in January 2022 and closed in March 2022. The committee will act as in an advisory role to the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). Members will provide expert, independent scientific advice to support Health Canada in evidence-based decision making on pesticides to better protect human health, wildlife and the environment.

The SAC-PCP members are:

Dr. Maricor Arlos, University of Alberta
Dr. Stéphane Bayen, McGill University
Dr. Kyle Bobiwash, University of Manitoba
Dr. Valérie Langlois, Institut national de la recherche scientifique, Eau Terre Environnement Research Centre
Dr. Bruce Lanphear, Simon Fraser University
Dr. Eric Liberda, Toronto Metropolitan University
Dr. Christy A. Morrissey, University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Sean Prager, University of Saskatchewan
Dr. Xianming Zhang, Concordia University

Health Canada's nomination criteria requested a wide range of relevant knowledge and experience in the areas of pesticide use in Canada, environmental fate and modelling, health and environmental risk assessment, food and workplace exposure, pesticide value assessment, and Indigenous knowledge of pesticides and traditional land use. The SAC-PCP members are representative of the diverse regional and linguistic communities in Canada.

In addition to the nine members, the SAC-PCP will benefit from a community of specialized experts to provide supplementary scientific expertise as needed. This will ensure that the Committee remains current depending on its evolving needs. This could include additional sectoral expertise in sectors such as agriculture and forestry, or expertise in other specific scientific areas. Health Canada intends to maintain this membership evergreen to ensure that required independent advice is available at any time.