CropLife Canada has reservations about the committee's purpose.Ottawa—Health Canada is seeking nominations for a new Science Advisory Committee on Pest Control Products to provide advice on pesticide issues including Maximum Residue Limits.Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said nominations will be accepted until March 11. The government is seeking experts “with a wide range of relevant knowledge and experience, including pesticide use in Canada, environmental fate and modelling, health risk assessment, or pesticide value assessment.” As well, it wants nominations for a roster of experts to advise the committee on an ad hoc basis, depending on the nature of the issues on the meeting agenda.The advisory committee will come under the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) to provide advice for evidence-based decisions on pesticides, including Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs), he said. In addition, “the committee's role will be to provide scientific advice in response to issues for consideration, including specific technical aspects of PMRA human health and/or environmental risk assessments, a pesticide's value in contributing to the management of a relevant pest problem in Canada and specific technical aspects of pesticide risk management options.”Brendan Byrne, Chair of Grain Farmers of Ontario: said the advisory committee “is a good opportunity to ensure that experts who are farmers, or who work closely with farmers, are included to reflect the practical aspects of pest control and to promote the continued production of safe affordable food.“Often the farmer voice is not consulted or included in discussions that will specifically impact food production and farming and this is a clear way to create collaboration within agriculture and food systems that relies on science and an understanding of the real-world implications of decisions,” he said.CropLife Canada said if the advisory committee had scientific expertise greater than what that the PMRA has, “the committee could add scientific value to the review process. Unfortunately, the committee's current mandate appears so broad, even reaching beyond scientific questions, and will serve to duplicate existing work and may impact the PMRA's ability to fulfill its mandate and deliver science-based decisions in a timely manner.”These timely decisions are critical to supporting the innovation, competitiveness and sustainability of Canadian agriculture, CropLife said. Creating this committee undermines the public's trust in Canada's science-based regulatory system and its highly trained independent experts.There is no scientific justification for putting the assessment of MRLs under the purview of this committee as they are set based on internationally accepted standards. “This very point illustrates that the motivation behind the advisory committee appears to have little to do with science.Just as the government “has been steadfast in its defense of the science behind vaccines, the agriculture industry deserves that it explain and defend the science behind agricultural innovations like pesticides. The Canadian public would benefit from Health Canada putting more effort into clearly explaining the processes and decisions made around pesticides rather than creating a politically-motivated advisory committee.”Duclos said the advisory committee “will provide independent scientific advice on key pesticide-related issues, allowing Health Canada to continue their important work in assessing pesticide safety in Canada.The committee is expected to include 5 to 8 core members, each serving 36 month terms and possible extension and report to the Executive Director of PMRA.Information on nominations to the committee is available at the Health Canada website under pesticide science advisory committee.