Like thousands of other agricultural workers across Canada, Wayne Gionet’s job exposed him to paraquat, the active ingredient in Gramoxone herbicide products.
After decades spent handling the chemical, which was manufactured by the Swiss agricultural multinational Syngenta, Gionet was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, a debilitating and incurable neurological condition. He passed away in August 2023 at the age of 74.
On Aug. 9, just over a year after his death, a B.C. court certified a class-action lawsuit against Syngenta AG and related entities. The class includes other Canadians who have been diagnosed with Parkinson’s after using Gramoxone products — or their surviving relatives.
“This affects people all across the country in a way that is, in some respects, quite unique,” said Daniel Bach, a partner at Siskinds LLP who is representing the plaintiffs in the case.
“This isn’t a situation where people were sick, and they went to the hospital, and they got a pacemaker, and the pacemaker didn’t work properly,” said Bach. “These are people who were exposed to this chemical that they had no reason to believe would have these effects. They were healthy when that happened.”
Syngenta declined to comment on the litigation, and instead directed Canadian Affairs to a page on the company’s website dedicated to countering claims that paraquat is unsafe.
“At Syngenta, we take the safety of our products very seriously. We have invested tens of millions of dollars to ensure the safety and safe use of paraquat, and have contributed significantly to the more than 1,200 safety studies submitted and reviewed by regulatory authorities around the world.”
“Syngenta rejects the claims of a causal link between paraquat and Parkinson’s disease because it is not supported by scientific evidence; this view is endorsed in science-based reviews by regulatory authorities,” the website says.
Irreversible, incurable
Parkinson’s is a progressive neurological disorder that leads to an irreversible decline in motor function. Its symptoms include tremors, stiffness and difficulty with coordination that result from a loss of dopamine-producing neurons in the brain.
While advancements in medical science have introduced ways to mitigate the disease’s symptoms, no treatment is 100 per cent effective.
Research indicates both genetic and environmental factors may be responsible for the disease.
More than 100,000 Canadians live with Parkinson’s, and roughly 30 more are diagnosed each day, according to Parkinson Canada, a patient advocacy group.
Bach says a substantial share of these people could be included within the suit’s identified class.
“Our estimate is that it’s hundreds or thousands of people. It’s probably not 10,000, and it’s more than a hundred,” he said.
When it was still on the market, Gramoxone products could be used in a variety of ways. They could be sprayed on lawns or gardens with hand-held spray devices or backpack sprayers. They could also be used in large agricultural operations to spray entire fields or for manufacturing purposes.
Concealed risks?
All of Syngenta’s Gramoxone products containing paraquat that were sold in Canada between 1963 and 2017 were registered and approved for use, the court said in its decision certifying the class action.
In 2023, Parkinson Canada announced that Gramoxone had been discontinued in Canada, and that it was no longer registered for distribution in Canada.
The plaintiffs allege that authorities at Syngenta were aware of possible links between paraquat and Parkinson’s — and failed to communicate these risks to consumers.
“Syngenta’s labels make no mention of any implications of chronic exposure, nor do they make any reference to Parkinson’s disease,” the court’s certification decision says.
Internal corporate documents obtained by the plaintiffs following disclosure by the US Environmental Protection Agency revealed rats exposed to paraquat develop symptoms associated with Parkinson’s.
The plaintiffs also found deposition transcripts and exhibits from American litigation against Syngenta indicating the company’s own internal research showed paraquat could likely enter users’ brains.
“[B]y October 1958, it would have been reasonable for Syngenta to assume that it was possible for paraquat to damage or kill brain cells,” the certification decision says.
“When this gets to trial, we believe that the evidence is going to show that that link exists, and that Syngenta ought to have warned about it, and liability will flow from that,” said Bach.
Although a final decision from the court is likely years away, Bach sees this certification as an important first step on the road to justice.
“The bottom line is courts are going to certify actions when tests are met, and we met the test here.”
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