Delayed Restrictions on Herbicide Prompt Failing Grade From Environmental Group

After last year’s provincial election, Premier Susan Holt instructed several of her newly appointed Cabinet ministers to restrict aerial herbicide spraying. The directive followed recommendations made roughly three years earlier by an all-party legislative committee, which had studied the issue in depth and heard testimony from scientists, advocates, and community members concerned about environmental and health impacts.

But senior officials from the Department of Natural Resources told lawmakers on Tuesday that the province has not yet implemented a number of key recommendations. These include buffer zones, or “setbacks,” designed to keep aerial spraying at a safe distance from homes, water sources, and protected areas.

The slow pace of action has sparked renewed questions about how much influence the forestry industry holds over government decision-making. Chris Norfolk, acting assistant deputy minister of Natural Resources, acknowledged that the changes proposed by the legislature could pose challenges for industry.

“We have reviewed the implications of fully implementing these required setbacks and I can say, based on our preliminary estimates, we do have some concern that this would create a significant impact to the province’s timber supply,” Norfolk said during a presentation to the Standing Committee on Climate Change and Environmental Stewardship.

Setbacks on aerial spraying

The original 2021 report emphasized widespread public concern about herbicide use in New Brunswick, following extensive public hearings before the standing committee. Witnesses described worries ranging from health effects to ecological damage and the long-term sustainability of forestry practices.

Norfolk said there had been “some movement” on the recommendations. Notably, earlier this year, Natural Resources increased setbacks for homes from 155 metres to 500 metres. However, confusion quickly emerged when several MLAs pointed out that they believed the 500-metre restriction was already in place at the time the report was written in 2021 — and that the report had in fact recommended doubling that distance to one kilometre.

When Green Party MLA Megan Mitton pressed the issue, Deputy Minister Cade Libby clarified that households within one kilometre of spray zones now receive advance notification when spraying is planned. But MLAs expressed concern that notification was not the same as protection.

The committee report also recommended “a minimum 100-metre aerial spraying setback from water and wetlands,” along with stricter rules tailored to specific hydrological landscapes. Furthermore, it called for a complete ban on spraying pesticides in designated watersheds under the Clean Water Act. Norfolk indicated that these measures had not yet been implemented, although he insisted no spraying had occurred within designated Crown watershed areas over the last five years.

That claim was disputed by Stop Spraying New Brunswick, a volunteer-run advocacy group. Using publicly available government data, the group produced a map suggesting that spraying had in fact occurred near Turtle Creek in 2021. Turtle Creek is a protected watershed supplying drinking water to Greater Moncton, making the allegation particularly troubling for residents and environmental groups.

Holt promised investigation

During the 2024 election campaign, Holt’s Liberal Party pledged to investigate alternatives to pesticides and herbicides and to reassess the safety of glyphosate with updated, locally relevant data. In November of that year, the Premier instructed Environment Minister Gilles LePage to lead this investigation, supported by Natural Resources Minister John Herron and several other Cabinet colleagues, including the ministers of Health, Agriculture, Finance, and Economic Development.

The 2021 report had also called for an independent economic study to evaluate the potential consequences of restricting or banning herbicide spraying. But on Tuesday, officials revealed that such a study will not be completed until 2027, years after the recommendations were first issued. Norfolk told MLAs the Pesticide Advisory Board, working under the Department of Environment, would take the lead and hire a consultant “if budget is present” to examine herbicide use across forestry and other sectors. Work is expected to begin next year.

Senior bureaucrats defended the province’s approach to date. Libby argued that herbicide application is limited in scope, saying, “It’s not done very often at all.” But Mitton, who helped author the 2021 report, voiced frustration. “We’re still pretty far out from getting the information we need to even evaluate next steps,” she told the committee.

Failing grades

The timing of the committee hearing coincided with the release of Stop Spraying NB’s latest annual “report card,” which evaluates how political parties are handling herbicide-related issues. The group delivered failing grades to both the governing Liberals and the official opposition Conservatives.

Caroline Lubbe-D’Arcy, chair of SSNB, accused the Liberals of failing to act within a reasonable timeframe. “The governing Liberals have basically failed to follow through with their election promises in the amount of time that would have been reasonable,” she said.

The Greens received a B-minus. The group faulted them for not tabling a motion to ban spraying during the most recent legislative session, but acknowledged their continued efforts to press the issue by asking questions, tabling petitions, and raising concerns in committee meetings.

Minister responds

The NB Media Co-op sought interviews with both the Environment and Natural Resources ministers. In response, Environment Minister LePage issued a written statement.

He said pesticide use in New Brunswick is “tightly regulated” under what he described as a “strong, layered system guided by science.” LePage pointed to measures taken since the 2021 report, including reactivating the Pesticide Advisory Board, imposing stricter setbacks from homes and waterways, and expanding public notification procedures. Specific details of those measures were not provided.

15,000 hectares sprayed annually

According to government figures, roughly 15,000 hectares of softwood plantations are sprayed with herbicides each year, primarily by J.D. Irving and other forestry companies. The chemicals are used to suppress competing vegetation and promote softwood growth. Libby told MLAs that the practice costs “just over $3 million annually” and represents about 0.5 per cent of Crown land.

Glyphosate is also used in New Brunswick agriculture, but officials emphasized that farms do not use aerial spraying. NB Power, meanwhile, relies on herbicides to manage vegetation beneath its 28,000 kilometres of transmission lines. While the utility discontinued glyphosate products in 2023, it continues to use alternatives such as Garlon, Navius, and Clearview.

The 2021 legislative report had urged NB Power to “immediately begin phasing out spraying pesticides under transmission lines.” That recommendation, like many others, remains in limbo.