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441-00878 (Environment)

Paper petition

Original language of petition: English

PETITION TO THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada draw the attention of the House to the following:

WHEREAS:

Pollinators, including honeybees, are a central element of our food system and a critical pillar of our ecology;

The impact of honeybees extends far beyond the pollination of commercial agricultural crops, but the monetary value of just this service is estimated to be in the hundreds of billions of dollars globally each year;

In the past decade, extreme declines in bee populations have been measured across North America and throughout Europe, prompting widespread concern from citizens, scientists, and many governments;

Many theories have been put forward for this collapse of the bee population, but one of the most likely is a class of pesticides called neonicotinoids, which attack insects' central nervous systems causing paralysis and death, and have proven very harmful in sub-lethal quantities; and

Following major scientific review of the risks associated with these pesticides, the European Commission began the process of implementing a full ban on the use of neonicotinoids in 2017.

THEREFORE, your petitioners call upon the Government of Canada to, for the sake of our bees and our food security, follow Europe's lead, and adhere to the precautionary principle by banning the use of neonicotinoids in Canada.

Response by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): The Honourable Marie-Claude Bibeau, PC, MP

Pest control products are regulated in Canada through a federal and provincial regulatory network that delivers a program of pre-market scientific assessment, enforcement, education, and information dissemination. The registration and regulation of pesticides in Canada falls under the responsibility of Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) via the authority of the Pest Control Products Act.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) works closely with PMRA to help ensure that pesticides, when used according to directions, do not pose any unacceptable risks to humans and beneficial insects such as bees and other insect pollinators. AAFC supports the PMRA’s rigorous, science-based evaluations of pesticides.

Following the August 4th, 2021 announcement to strengthen the capacity and transparency of review process for pesticides, $7 million has been invested for AAFC scientists to accelerate the research, development, and adoption of alternative pest management solutions. These funds support the Minister of Agriculture’ s 2021 Mandate Letter commitment to “support food producers who choose alternative pest management approaches that reduce the need for chemical pesticides”.

Federal and provincial governments have made investments to better understand and maintain healthy bee populations, including programs that support beekeepers, research geared towards maintaining healthy bee populations, and a national surveillance project to document the health profile of honeybee colonies in Canada:

  • Through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, AAFC works with the provinces to co-fund activities that support environmental sustainability, including bee health. For example, Ontario’s Honey Bee Health Management initiative funds beekeeper operational improvements to reduce biosecurity risks, overwinter loss and the spread of pests and disease for honeybees.
  • Among other projects, AAFC scientists are currently engaged in a Large Scale Applied Genomics Research Project along with several Canadian Universities to develop a new real-time bee health assessment and diagnosis platform using stressor-specific bio-markers. Valued at almost $10 million, this project is known as “BeeCSI” and measures gene expression in bees subjected to various pests, parasites and pesticides in both laboratory and field settings, in order to detect unique and detectable signatures of stress. By discovering expression biomarkers specifically related to pesticide exposure, including those from neonicotinoid insecticides, AAFC scientists are developing tools to more rapidly detect the effects of pesticides on honey bees thereby enabling more proactive management of bee health.
  • The Beekeepers Commission of Alberta in collaboration with the Manitoba Beekeepers Association is undertaking the National Honey Bee Health Survey project and will work closely with colleagues in other provinces as the project progresses, utilizing the National Bee Diagnostic Centre for sample analysis. The goal of the National Honey Bee Health Survey is to establish a bee health database in Canada to document the prevalence, intensity and distribution of pests, pathogens and chemical residues in Canadian honeybee colonies. Phase I of the project has been completed (2014-2017), while Phase II (2019-2022) is underway. Reports are produced annually by the Government of Canada, and are available at the following link. Prior to initiation of the National Honey Bee Health Survey in Canada, surveillance of this nature had only been done at the regional level; the sector is seeking to expand co-ordination and identify issues that present challenges to bee health across the country.

In each province, a provincial beekeeper collects relevant data on beekeeping and honey production, including the population of honeybee colonies and the number of beekeepers. This data demonstrates that in 2021, the second year marked by significant COVID-19-related challenges for the agricultural sector, Canada had 13,105 beekeepers keeping a record high of 810,496 honey bee colonies, representing an increase of nine percent in the number of beekeepers and six percent in the number of colonies compared to the previous year. Colony population data indicates a 37 percent increase in honey bee colonies in Canada since 2007. Data for 2022 will be available soon.

Canadian beekeepers continue to work diligently to grow their beekeeping operations while addressing external and internal factors affecting bee health and AAFC is committed to their protection.

Response by the Minister of Health

Signed by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Adam van Koeverden

The Government is committed to the health and safety of Canadians, their food supply, and the environment. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) will continue diligently ensuring that only pest control products meeting our stringent health and environmental standards will be approved for use in Canada. Pesticides are regulated under the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA), which is administered by Health Canada, to protect Canadians and the environment from risks associated with the use of pesticides.

Health Canada is aware of the importance of bees and the beekeeping industry, as well as the issues regarding bee health, including concerns over the potential effect of chronic pesticide exposure. Bee health is a complex issue that could be impacted by many potential factors including: diseases, pests, climate, diet and pesticides.

Departmental scientists collaborate with scientists from universities and other organizations to determine whether specific pesticides are contributing to pollinator declines.

Before a pesticide is allowed to be used or sold in Canada, it must undergo a rigorous scientific assessment process that provides reasonable certainty that no harm to human health and the environment will occur when it is used according to label directions. Depending on the type of pesticide being evaluated, results from up to 200 scientific studies (or in some cases more) may be required to determine whether the pesticide would have any negative effect on people, animals (including beneficial insects, such as pollinators like bees), or plants, including organisms in the soil and water.

Health Canada must also periodically re-evaluate pesticides that are on the market to determine whether they continue to meet the Department’s current health and environmental standards and hence, whether they should continue to be permitted for use in Canada.

Health Canada has conducted several post-market reviews of neonicotinoid pesticides in recent years. In 2019, Health Canada published pollinator-focused (e.g., bees) re-evaluation decisions for clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. In order to protect pollinators, Health Canada cancelled several uses of these pesticides and added further restrictions to other uses, such as prohibiting spraying of some crops before or during bloom. It should be noted that these decisions were made following the consideration of a large variety of published independent scientific data, including those reviewed by other internationally recognized regulatory agencies (such as the European Union).

On May 19, 2021, Health Canada released the final re-evaluation decision for the neonicotinoid pesticide, imidacloprid. This followed the special review decisions related to aquatic organisms for two neonicotinoid pesticides, clothianidin and thiamethoxam, released by Health Canada on March 31, 2021. Previously, Health Canada had consulted publicly on a proposal to cancel all outdoor uses of these pesticides. Over 47,000 comments were received during the consultations, as well as a substantial amount of new information, including new studies and water monitoring data. In order to protect the environment, in this final decision, Health Canada cancelled some uses of imidacloprid, and introduced additional mitigation measures and restrictions on some of the uses that remain registered, which is consistent with the Special Review decisions for clothianidin and thiamethoxam.

On February 24, 2022 the Special Review Decision SRD2022-02 on the potential environmental risk related to squash bee exposure to clothianidin, thiamethoxam and imidacloprid used on cucurbits, was published. All comments received on the proposed decision were considered. Based on the comments, an additional environmental risk assessment to address potential risk to squash bees that could be exposed to persistent neonicotinoid residues from seed treatments was conducted as part of the Special Review. Ultimately, the Special Review did not result in a change to the risk conclusions described in the 2019 pollinator re-evaluation decisions of these pesticides. Risks are considered acceptable when applied according to the existing mitigation measures.

The re-evaluations for clothianidin and thiamethoxam have also been initiated and will consider any new scientific data relating to potential impacts on pollinator insects (e.g., bees), that have been published since Health Canada’s 2019 pollinator-focused re-evaluation decisions.

It is important to note that scientific data and information considered during these scientific evaluations may come from a variety of sources, such as federal and provincial governments, academia and the research community, registrants, other internationally recognized regulatory agencies, as well as a large body of published, independent scientific studies. When the science-based assessment indicates that potential risk to human health or the environment is not acceptable when risk management measures are applied, Health Canada will cancel either specific uses or all uses of a pesticide, depending on the assessment. When all uses of a pesticide are cancelled, the pesticide is phased-out from the Canadian market.

To help ensure agricultural practices across the country protect pollinators, Health Canada actively works with key stakeholders and federal and provincial agriculture and environment ministries. These collaborations help address data gaps and refine risk assessments. Health Canada also cooperates internationally through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Commission for Plant-Pollinator Relationships (ICPPR) Bee Protection Working Group to develop test guidelines and guidance documents.

Health Canada continues to monitor for new information related to neonicotinoid pesticides, including regulatory action taken by other governments, and will take appropriate action if there are reasonable grounds to believe that use of the products is resulting in risks of concern to the environment.

Presented to the House of Commons
Elizabeth May (Saanich—Gulf Islands)
November 28, 2022 (Petition No. 441-00878)
Government response tabled
January 18, 2023
Photo - Elizabeth May
Saanich—Gulf Islands
Green Party Caucus
British Columbia

Only validated signatures are counted towards the total number of signatures.