Hi everybody. Here are the updates

Meeting the Minister:
We have a few more days to go before the meeting with Minister Carla Qualtrough, scheduled on April 26th afternoon. I hope things don’t change again. Along with me, the delegation will include 1. Dr. Thierry Vrain - genetic engineer & retired Agriculture Canada scientist 2. Kenneth Young, Canadian army veteran 3. Richard Sweeting, retired orthopaedic surgeon 4. Eliza Olson, President, Burns Bog conservation society 5. Liz Walker, President, White Rock & Surrey Naturalist & Director, Citizens for Safe Technology 6. Richard Miller, promoter of non-GMO organic clean eating, was affected for over 20 years by chemical exposure. I shall be handing over the documents, and ask her to have the Health minister to respond to people’s demand to have the glyphosate safety test data to be released. I shall inform her that there has been legal precedence, in Supreme court of India, showing safety data of a product cannot be kept away from public if the product itself is also not kept away. I shall mention precedence where court stated that confidentiality clause and intellectual property right cannot trump public safety. I shall offer to link her up with advocates and litigants involved in the court cases, if she wants to learn more about it. I do not know if I shall have time or not, suspect not, to elaborate on Canada’s sorry state of non-ratification on Cartagena protocol on biodiversity preservation act. Kenneth Young might mention Stockholm convention on organic pollutants. Richard Sweetings and Richard miller, along with Eliza Olson might offer moral support but not say anything specific. Liz Walker is trying to formulate in her mind various issues that could be mentioned. I did seed the idea for both of them to consider asking the Ministers help in kick starting local testing of soil, water and most importantly, food, for Glyphosate concentration, and start uploading it and making it available for the people. State of This petition
It may be that we have to close the petition soon, if and when the issue reaches Ottawa through Minister Qualtrough. Will the effort succeed and will the safety data get released right away. I do not expect so at all, although I am hoping that the effort will create the first push in Ottawa on this very important legal and rights issue (not a GMO debate issue). Anyhow, if the petition is closed, all you 22,000 people will not get any update. I don’t even know if all of you actually want updates and be in touch with this effort. I know some of you do, but am not sure of the rest.

So, here is a proposal - if you folks are interested to be part of a group that get periodic updates from us on what we are doing and how you can join up, either in another petition, or in direct action of writing to an MP, or MLA or Councillor etc etc … drop me an email at tony.mitra@gmail.com with a short sentence in subject heading saying “include me in msg on Glyphosate activism” I shall then enter those emails in a separate list and use it for any future brain storming on these lines. I am unlikely to give up any time soon, but I realize that the trick is not to convince a politician how bad Glyphosate is or how illegal it is to hide the safety data, but to influence thousands and thousands of citizens of the same, so they can write and confront their own politicians with a similar demand to release glyphosate safety test data. If enough folks get up and push, it will happen. It is my strong suspicion, and I have reason to have that suspicion, that the primary reason the safety test data are hidden is because they know the data stinks, and exposing it spells doom for the toxin. So that is the second part ; If you wish to remain connected after the petition - send me an email. The third is - what now ? 

I do not know, but one thing is for sure. I do not intend to sit still and wait for death. I either try to eradicate Glyphosate (and other chemicals) or it will eradicate me.

 By the way, the picture is of three of us, myself, Dr. Eliza Olson (next to me) and Liz Walker at the Greek Restaurant in Scott Road, having a coffee and discussing Glyphosate and our coming meeting. Cheers and best wishes
 Tony