"It's About Time": Canada Celebrated for Banning Bee-Killing Neonics While US Backslides

While the Trump administration recently moved to roll back a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides in U.S. wildlife refuges, conservationists are celebrating Canada “for recognizing the overwhelming body of scientific evidence on neonics and phasing out these dangerous pesticides.”

“This is a really huge decision.”
—John Bennett, Friends of the Earth Canada

“These bee-killing pesticides pose a serious threat to public health, the environment, and our entire food system,” declared Tiffany Finck-Haynes, a senior food futures campaigner for Friends of the Earth U.S., applauding the Canadian government’s new policy.

Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency on Wednesday unveiled plans to phase out two of the three main neonics currently allowed in the country. As The Canadian Press noted, “The agency has already announced plans to phase out the third pesticide in all outdoor uses, meaning it can’t be sprayed or used to pre-treat seeds before planting.”

“This is a really huge decision,” said John Bennett, a senior policy adviser at Friends of the Earth Canada.

Jim Coneybeare, president of the Ontario Beekeepers Association and a beekeeper in southwestern Ontario, told The Canadian Press that his beehives in areas exposed to neonics experience far greater losses, and he doesn’t understand why it will take so long to implement the new policy.