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MANITOULIN—For years, the debate over glyphosate has unfolded along two parallel tracks.

On one side stand regulators, industry representatives and government agencies, insisting that when used according to label directions, the world’s most widely used herbicide remains safe. On the other stand scientists, environmental advocates, cancer patients and Indigenous communities, pointing to a growing body of research they say raises troubling questions about both human health and ecological impacts.

Now, even as Health Canada continues to publicly defend its approval of glyphosate-based herbicides, the federal regulator has quietly increased its scrutiny of the controversial chemical.

According to documents obtained through an access-to-information request, Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) placed glyphosate under its new Continuous Oversight Policy last December—a move that allows regulators to continually monitor emerging scientific evidence and potentially trigger a formal special review if concerns arise.