Tell Ontario to stop the toxic spray on forests

Each year, logging companies spray a toxic blanket of the herbicide glyphosate on thousands of hectares of cutblocks to promote the growth of commercial tree species by killing everything else.

How can you help?

Tell the Ontario government it’s time to ban the aerial spray of herbicides on public forests. Please type your letter into the box, feel free to use the “Points to Consider” below. Please do not leave the box empty, as it will not automatically fill.

Your letter will go to Ontario Minister of Natural Resources, Mike Harris, Associate Minister of Forests, Kevin Holland, Opposition Critic MPP Guy Bourgouin and your MPP.

Why is Glyphosate bad?

Glyphosate is the main ingredient in Roundup herbicide which affects native broadleaf plants such as birch, poplar, berries and grasses that are important for wildlife, traditional food, medicine, fire-prevention and overall ecosystem health. It’s a public health risk, especially for First Nations and Métis communities whose harvest and hunting territories bear the direct impacts of the spray. It’s also unnecessary, as demonstrated by the decades-long ban on the spray in Quebec.

Points to consider for your letter:

Feel free to cut and paste the points below in your letter
Do not leave the box empty or your email will be blank!

  • I am deeply concerned about the glyphosate spraying on Ontario’s public forests. Logging corporations use glyphosate to kill native plants that regrow after a forest has been logged. 
  • Glyphosate harms wildlife, traditional food and medicine supply, and important fungi and bacteria.
  • Glyphosate also poses a public health risk and is a probable human carcinogen.
  • The mono-culture forest grown after glyphosate spraying doesn’t provide the same range of habitat as a mixed forest. It’s also hotter and drier, and more prone to devastating forest fires. 
  • We do not need to be using chemical herbicides within Ontario's forests to regrow timber after the trees have been harvested — herbicides like glyphosate has been banned in forestry in in Quebec since 2001.
  • The impacts of the aerial spray of toxic herbicides on the traditional harvest and hunting grounds of First Nations communities have not been fully studied and many First Nations are calling for a ban on the spray of glyphosate, citing lack of consultation and health concerns. 
  • We must start seeing the forest for values other than profits to logging companies. We can do that by prioritizing ecosystem health and banning the use of glyphosate in logging. 
  • I urge you to raise this issue in the house and call on your government to ban the use of glyphosate in the forests.
Points to consider for your letter:

Feel free to cut and paste the points below in your letter
Do not leave the box empty or your email will be blank!

  • I am deeply concerned about the glyphosate spraying on Ontario’s public forests. Logging corporations use glyphosate to kill native plants that regrow after a forest has been logged. 
  • Glyphosate harms wildlife, traditional food and medicine supply, and important fungi and bacteria.
  • Glyphosate also poses a public health risk and is a probable human carcinogen.
  • The mono-culture forest grown after glyphosate spraying doesn’t provide the same range of habitat as a mixed forest. It’s also hotter and drier, and more prone to devastating forest fires. 
  • We do not need to be using chemical herbicides within Ontario's forests to regrow timber after the trees have been harvested — herbicides like glyphosate has been banned in forestry in in Quebec since 2001.
  • The impacts of the aerial spray of toxic herbicides on the traditional harvest and hunting grounds of First Nations communities have not been fully studied and many First Nations are calling for a ban on the spray of glyphosate, citing lack of consultation and health concerns. 
  • We must start seeing the forest for values other than profits to logging companies. We can do that by prioritizing ecosystem health and banning the use of glyphosate in logging. 
  • I urge you to raise this issue in the house and call on your government to ban the use of glyphosate in the forests.