Elizabeth May says TPP deal is dangerous: “Milk that includes hormones needs to be kept out of Canada”

OTTAWA – Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party (Saanich-Gulf Islands), released the following statement after news that the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) would allow milk that includes hormones into Canada:

“In 1999, Health Canada banned bovine growth hormones (rBST), because of animal welfare concerns, including an increased risk of mastitis, a painful bacteria inflection that affects the udders, a 50 percent increase risk of clinical lameness, and shorter lifespans for cows. I played a key role in keeping the bovine growth hormone out of Canada as the Executive Director of the Sierra Club of Canada.

“In Canada it is still illegal to use bovine growth hormone to increase milk production, yet the TPP would allow milk with this hormone into Canada. We really do not know the affects of this hormone on humans, which is one of the reasons why Europe has already banned rBST. The International Agency for Research in Cancer has concerns that rBST increases cancer in humans. Milk that includes hormones needs to be kept out of Canada.”

“The Green Party has serious concerns with the fundamentally undemocratic and non-transparent nature of the negotiations surrounding the TPP. At this point, the TPP is an agreement only in principle. The Green Party will work in Parliament to ensure that an open and transparent debate takes place before any vote to reject or ratify the agreement,” said Paul Manly, Green Party International Trade Critic.

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