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Anishinaabe way of life
Learn about Anishinaabe way of life and what is at stake with extractivist practices including Glyphosate use.
This is Anishinaabe
Land
TEK Elders call for a moratorium on arial herbicide use and respect for Anishinaabe Law across our traditional lands
COALITION OF ELDERS, ENVIRONMENTALISTS, AND HUNTERS & ANGLERS SAY “STOP THE SPRAY”
Anishinaabek Elders, grass roots Environmentalists, and Hunters and Anglers have come together as one voice to delivered petitions and a message to Queen’s Park on Earth Day 2024: it is time to end arial glyphosate spraying Ontario forests with herbicides.
This practice is converting forests to plantations – harming waterways and destroying food sources required for deer, moose, bear, and other forest relatives. Caroline Recollet of the TEK Elders will discuss the White Ribbon Campaign and the Elders’ invitation to all of Ontario to participate. What: The Traditional Ecological Knowledge Elders in the Robinson Huron Treaty Territory (1850), guests of Nickelbelt MPP France Gélinas, will deliver a press conference to call for an end to “poison raining from the sky”
Elder Caroline Recollet (Whanapitae First Nation), spokesperson for the TEK Elders in the Robinson Huron Treaty Territory will be joined by other TEK Elders members, Joel Theriault of Stop the Spray Ontario, friends from Ontario’s environment groups, and MPP France Gélinas who is carrying a petition to deliver at 1pm on behalf of Stop the Spray Ontario.
CBC NEWS APRIL 2024
Stop the Spray group wants herbicides banned for Ontario forests
Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas is presenting a petition on the group's behalf at Queen’s Park
CBC News Posted: Apr 22, 2024 2:12 PM EDT | Last Updated: April 22
As a bush plane pilot in northern Ontario, Joel Theriault has seen firsthand the effect herbicides have on forests in the region.
"There's something very wrong when you can see a mile in each direction and you can fly for weeks over these areas and not see a bear, and not see a wolf, and not see a moose," he said.
In the late summer and early fall, forestry companies and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry spray herbicides over wooded areas that are cultivated for their timber.
"They're spraying them to eliminate all of the competition for sunlight for the replanted conifer trees," said Theriault.
Because of his experience as a bush pilot and hunter, Theriault started a group called Stop the Spray Ontario to help end the practice.
He said he was convinced to start the group when he harvested a black bear that made his friends and family sick with nausea, headaches and diarrhea after consuming it.
The group Stop the Spray is petitioning the province of Ontario to end the practice of spraying herbicides to manage areas used for the forestry sector.
"I looked it up online and those were the symptoms that matched up and lined up with overexposure to glyphosate based herbicides," Theriault said.
On Monday, Nickel Belt MPP France Gélinas is presenting a petition from Stop the Spray asking the government to end the practice of spraying herbicide over Ontario forests.
Currently Quebec is the only Canadian province that bans the use of herbicides in the forestry industry.
Alternatives to herbicides
Nelson Thiffault, a researcher with the Canadian Forest Service at Natural Resources Canada, said there are alternatives to using herbicides in forestry, while still promoting the growth of new conifer trees.
Thiffault said manually cutting brush in specific areas to promote growth is one solution.
"The use of multi-manual brush saws for example, but potentially not all sites, are well suited for that kind of treatment," he said.
Forestry companies, the provincial government and some First Nations are involved in a Herbicide Alternatives Program, said Thiffault, that is exploring some of those alternatives.
Herbicides not widely used, says province
In an email to CBC News, Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry spokesperson Marcela Mayo said herbicides are only applied to 0.2 per cent of the managed forested areas in Ontario every year.
"Health Canada studied glyphosate's environmental impact and confirmed its safety when used correctly," the email said.
"Ontario's forest managers prioritize safety measures, like buffer zones, despite glyphosate's rare use."
With files from Aya Dufour
cumulative effects
Evidence of harm
Listen to Elders speak about the cumulative effects of so-called "development" over time and across our traditional territories.
mobilizing action
White Ribbon Campaign
Engage with the TEK Elders' calls to action including the White Ribbon Campaign and Anishinaabe Governance education.
TEK Elders: About our Campaign
Spend a little time with the Elders listening to our teachings and reading the articles and case studies we present... and take action!
TEK Elders in action
White Ribbon Campaign
Elder Raymond Owl's vision
TEK Elders co-founder Raymond Owl (Sagamok) shared his vision and a request for the Anishinaabe to re-claim relationships and responsibilities with the tree people.
