A man who claims exposure to chemicals at the family farm near Carman caused him to get cancer has filed a lawsuit against the agricultural firms that sprayed herbicides on the land while leasing it for research.
Kevin Wayne Giesbrecht and Jennifer Diane McAlpine, common-law spouses who now live in Calgary, filed the suit in the Manitoba Court of King’s Bench against Bayer AG and its subsidiaries, Bayer Inc. and Bayer CropScience, as well as Monsanto Canada Inc., which was purchased by Bayer in 2018 and amalgamated into Bayer CropScience in 2020.
The lawsuit, filed by Winnipeg lawyers Aaron Challis and Amber Harms, also names Corteva Agriscience Canada as a defendant.
The companies have yet to respond to the lawsuit in court.
The lawsuit alleges the companies sprayed herbicides, believed to include glyphosate-based herbicides, including Roundup, and other possibly cancer-causing chemicals, on the land.
Glyphosate is the world’s most widely used herbicide; it was introduced by Monsanto in 1974. The herbicide has been subject to significant legal and scientific debate over its potential effects on the environment and human health.
Giesbrecht was diagnosed with Stage 4 follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, last December, the court filings say.
The World Health Organization’s International Agency for Research on Cancer said glyphosate is probably carcinogenic, following a 2015 review of studies.
After the WHO finding, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency re-evaluated its use and a final decision, issued in 2017, said the weed-killer is safe if used with guidance. Environmental organizations took their objections to the Federal Court of Appeal. It ordered the pesticide regulator to review the potential health effects of the herbicide again in 2022.
Other regulatory agencies — including in the U.S. and European Union — also allow its use. The American regulator said in 2019 that it wouldn’t approve product labelling indicating that glyphosate causes cancer, calling it a false claim.
Bayer has maintained that glyphosate, acquired when it purchased Monsanto, is safe, though it inherited Monsanto’s slew of lawsuits in the U.S. over allegations the herbicide causes cancer, specifically non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
In 2020, Bayer agreed to pay US$9.6 billion to settle tens of thousands of American civil court claims.
Giesbrecht’s lawsuit says Corteva’s Hyland Seeds signed a five-year lease with his parents in 2008 to conduct crop research and development on a parcel of land.
Monsanto, since folded into Bayer, began leasing a parcel of land to conduct research and trials in 2013, with a second lease inked in 2020, the court filings say.
A chemical-testing facility affiliated with the defendants is also nearby.
The lawsuit says the leases include express or implied conditions that the defendants would observe safety protocols and not apply chemicals that posed a health and safety risk to the leased land.
Giesbrecht lived on the farm from 2002 to 2012 when he was a minor, and has regularly visited it since then. The residence is within 100 yards of the leased land.
He alleges he repeatedly and frequently came in contact with or was exposed to chemicals, including glyphosate, while he was outside on the farm and doing activities on the land, and through the family’s kitchen garden, which was near the leased land.
The companies, Giesbrecht’s suit alleges, concealed the identity of the chemicals used on the land. Further, the claim alleges, the companies did not warn Giesbrecht or his family about the risks associated with the use of chemicals or take steps to reduce exposure.
“It was unconscionable for the defendants to conceal the risks associated with the chemicals,” reads the lawsuit.
Giesbrecht, who began to fall ill in November, started cancer treatments in December. McAlpine has suffered from Giesbrecht’s diagnosis, the claim says.
The lawsuit claims the companies knew or ought to have known glyphosate is carcinogenic prior to 2015, but tried to conceal, undermine and delay the scientific discourse about the matter.
Giesbrecht claims the defendants committed battery against him and were negligent in their use of chemicals.
He has suffered significantly, the lawsuit claims, and argues he should be granted general, special, aggravated and punitive damages.
A spokeswoman for Bayer said the companies had yet to be served notice of the Manitoba suit.
“Bayer stands fully behind the safety of our glyphosate products, which have been used safely and successfully in Canada and internationally for nearly 50 years,” said spokeswoman Christina Taylor in a statement. “Leading health regulators in Canada and around the world have repeatedly concluded that glyphosate is not a carcinogen and that glyphosate products are safe when used according to label directions.”
A spokesperson for Corteva did not return a request for comment.
erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca
Erik Pindera
Reporter
Erik Pindera is a reporter for the Free Press, mostly focusing on crime and justice. The born-and-bred Winnipegger attended Red River College Polytechnic, wrote for the community newspaper in Kenora, Ont. and reported on television and radio in Winnipeg before joining the Free Press in 2020. Read more about Erik.
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