A new class-action lawsuit certified on Monday by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice is alleging significant exposure to weed killer brand Roundup and other glyphosate-based herbicides causes non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of cancer.
The lawsuit commenced in June 2019 against Monsanto Company, Monsanto Canada ULC (now Bayer CropScience Inc.), and Bayer Inc. — the companies responsible for distributing Roundup in Canada since 1976.
It claims the companies either knew or should’ve known significant exposure to Roundup could cause cancer, but sold the product to Canadians without proper warnings anyway. The lawsuit also claims the companies “failed to adequately warn users of this alleged risk” and deliberately misled the public for years.
“The defendants engaged in years of bad faith activities to sow confusion and doubt in the public about the state of the science on Roundup in order to preserve and grow their profits,” the class action counsel said in a statement shared on their website.
There were a number class-actions filed across Canada regarding Roundup, MacKenzie Lake Lawyers told the Star, and the counsel is working co-operatively with this lawsuit in Ontario on behalf of those nationwide.
In the class-action suit in Ontario, the representative plaintiff says he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 1995 at 17 years old, believing it was caused by significant exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup. The lawsuit claims that glyphosate is a “probable human carcinogen.”
The representative plaintiff in Ontario is seeking damages of $1 billion for non-monetary losses, including mental health impacts, pain and suffering. He’s also pursuing $100 million under family law statutes in Ontario and other provinces, as well as an additional $100 million in punitive damages.
The lawsuit hasn’t been tested in court.
Is glyphosate a cancer risk?
The defendants “vigorously deny” their glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup-branded herbicides, cause non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.
Bayer CropSceience Inc. told the Star in an emailed statement that they firmly stand behind the safety of glyphosate-based products.
“While we have great sympathy for (the representative plaintiff’s) medical issues, Bayer is confident our glyphosate products are not the cause of his illness, and we will continue to defend our products,” the statement read.
“Our glyphosate products have been used safely and successfully in Canada and internationally for nearly 50 years. Leading health regulators around the world have repeatedly concluded that glyphosate is not a carcinogen and that glyphosate products are safe when used according to label directions.”
After a glyphosate evaluation in 2017, Health Canada concluded products containing the herbicide don’t present human health or environmental risks when used according to the revised label directions. Health Canada granted continued registration of products containing glyphosate for sale and use in Canada after their findings.
After Health Canada received eight notices of objection, a re-evaluation was prompted in 2019, with 20 scientists not involved in the 2017 evaluation. The re-evaluations from Health Canada reaffirmed their findings that glyphosate isn’t a cancer risk, saying, “No pesticide regulatory authority in the world currently considers glyphosate to be a cancer risk to humans at the levels at which humans are currently exposed.”
In 2021, Laval, Que., a suburb north of Montreal, became the first city to ban the use of glyphosate in a move they said would protect human health, pollinating insects, wildlife and natural spaces.
Who’s eligible to qualify in the lawsuit?
To qualify as a class member, according to the law firms, individuals must’ve applied any herbicide containing glyphosate manufactured, distributed or sold by the companies named in the lawsuit more than twice in a year and more than 10 times in their life. It doesn’t matter whether the herbicide was marketed under the Roundup branding.
Those individuals must’ve also been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma before Dec. 8, 2023. Family members of those who meet the lawsuit’s criteria are also considered class members.
The law firms say Canadians who don’t meet the criteria don’t need to take any action to be part of the lawsuit. There is a possibility of monetary compensation if a settlement is reached before the class-action is tested in court.
What does ‘significant exposure’ mean?
In the class action, “significant exposure” refers to the application of glyphosate-based herbicides made, marketed, sold or distributed by the companies more than twice within a year, the law firms say.
Those individuals must’ve also applied such herbicides more than 10 times throughout their lives to meet the criteria of “significant exposure.”
