TEK Elders continue to walk with Seven Grandfather Teachings

By Leslie Knibbs

OTTAWA—On October 18, a busload of Elders made their way to Parliament Hill in Ottawa to demonstrate and protest the following day against the use of chemicals in aerial spraying of forests in Canada.

The Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) group from the North Shore of Lake Huron spearheaded the protest.  Not satisfied with the lack of response from the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (MNRF) in Ontario, TEK made the decision to take their message to Minister of Health, Jane Philpott and the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), a group within Health Canada responsible for determining whether or not a chemical is safe for use.

TEK Elders Raymond Owl of Sagamok Anishinabek First Nation and Willie Pine from Mississauga First Nation (MFN), founders of the group, were hoping to have their voices heard by Health Canada’s PMRA, the regulatory body reevaluating the use of Glyphosate, the chemical most used in aerial spraying.

Another group involved in the decision making process by the PMRA is the Pest Management Advisory Council (PMAC), a multi-stakeholder providing guidance or advice to Health Canada regarding pest management regulations and policies.  Annual meetings of PMAC take place in February each year, one month before the March deadline for a Health Canada decision by the PMRA on the use of Glyphosate.  A PMAC meeting is scheduled for February 2017.  At the last meeting in February, presenters included PMRA members, as well as observers from the PMRA, Health Canada, and others from the office of the Auditor General of Canada.  Other stakeholders included these observers: John A. Lynch, from Monsanto Canada Inc., Laurie Goodwin, from Syngenta Canada Inc., Seshari Iyengar, of Bayer CropScience Inc., and Cheryl Fougere, from the Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association.

The PMRA relies on scientific evidence when making a determination whether or not a chemical is environmentally safe.  TEK is insisting oral testimony from Elders based on traditional ecological knowledge should be admissible as evidence in making a decision on the use of Glyphosate.  Also, as stated by the PMRA, other organizations are consulted or looked to when making decisions, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the United States (US).  In a letter dated September 15, 2016, TEK Elders Raymond Owl and Willie Pine clearly stated adequate consultation and accommodation had not taken place prior to all spraying, nor is the MNRF decision to continue aerial spraying “consistent with the need to secure our free, prior and informed consent,” clearly a violation of Treaty Rights.

It’s interesting to note that in the US on Oct. 18-21 of this year, a four-day public meeting was to be held by the EPA to discuss whether or not Glyphosate is safe for use.  This chemical is the cornerstone of Monsanto’s enormous wealth.  Regrettably, for those concerned with the dangers of Glyphosate, the EPA Scientific Advisory Panel decided to postpone the meetings after heavy lobbying by the agrichemical Biotech companies, including Monsanto; all influenced the EPA in postponing these important and necessary meetings, saying the speakers will be too biased.  The PMRA’s mandate to consult with groups such as the EPA, who by all appearances caved into demands made by lobbyists for the forestry industry provokes questions by those concerned with the decision making process.

Further to this, CropLife, an umbrella group which represents the interests of Monsanto and other agribusinesses told the EPA, “The EPA should replace Dr. Peter Infante, [leading epidemiologist on the Advisory Panel], and be disqualified from panel participation and replaced  with an epidemiologist without such patent bias.”

According to journalist Carey Gillam with the ‘ US Right To Know’, “CropLife said Infante has testified in the past for plaintiffs in chemical exposure cases against Monsanto”, and is therefore predisposed to supporting a ban on Glyphosate.

Concern about the use of harmful chemical herbicides to manage growth of forestry industry raw materials goes back a long way in First Nation communities.  As far back as 2008 at the All Ontario Chiefs Conference June 3 to 5 in Red Rock Indian Band, the First Nation made up of Parmacheene Reserve and Lake Helen, a consensus was reached to adapt Resolution 08/09 outlining reasons why First Nations within Ontario want government “to ban chemical herbicide application in forestry operations in Ontario.”  Within the resolution, eight reasons were noted for banning the use of chemicals including, perhaps most importantly, Quebec’s complete ban of using chemical herbicides in their forests since 2001 because of environmental concerns and health concerns.  No mention of bans on Glyphosate use in many European countries were mentioned in the resolution.

In a recent e-mail from Jason Flint, Director General for PMRA, to TEK sent on September 29 this year,  Flint invited TEK Elder Raymond Owl to attend the PMAC annual meeting in February 2017 to express TEK’s concerns directly to the PMAC.   After consulting with other TEK Elders, Owl declined the offer.  However, at the demonstration in Ottawa, Flint responded positively to a request to him by the Elders “to make your acquaintance face-to-face, Nation-to-Nation.”  Flint attended the demonstration on behalf of Health Minister Jane Philpott listening to many speeches by supporters of TEK.

Speakers at the demonstration included Carol Hughes, MP for Algoma Manitoulin, Charlie Angus MP, Raymond Owl, Willie Pine, Deputy Chief Glenn Hare, Issac Murdoch from Serpent River First Nation as well as Robert Stoneypoint from Sagamok and others.

Flint was presented with an ash basket for Minister Jane Philpott and asked to be the “carrier” of the basket made by Elder Irene Makedskin of Sagamok.  Accepting the gift, Flint said, “I honourably accept this responsibility.”

The TEK group returned to their homes along the North Shore happy to have met with a representative of Health Canada.  According to Elder Raymond Owl, TEK is expecting a response to their demands to stop aerial spraying from Health Canada in a week or so.  With the March 2017 decision by Health Canada on the safety of Glyphosate looming, TEK Elders persist in their battle to stop aerial spraying with a constancy in their spirit, and a devotion to accepting as truth, “the fundamental basis for daily living is to walk with the Seven Grandfather Teachings in the interactions and actions that affect all species given by the Creator.”