Pesticides hearing can proceed

FEDERAL COURT RULES HEARING CAN PROCEED ON PESTICIDES BLAMED FOR BEE DEATHS

A Federal Court decision allowing a lawsuit over pesticides blamed for decimating bee populations could affect dozens of common agricultural chemicals, environmentalists say.

“This case illustrates a problem with how (Health Canada) approaches pesticide regulation and we’re hoping the court agrees with us that process needs to be tightened up,” said Lisa Gue of the David Suzuki Foundation, one of four groups behind the lawsuit.

The claim asks the court to revoke Health Canada permits for two of the country’s most commonly used pesticides — so-called neonic insecticides. This week, Federal Court rejected an appeal from Health Canada and several chemical companies to have the lawsuit dismissed.

Research suggests a link between neonics and plummeting populations of bees, which are crucial for the pollination of about one-third of human food crops.

The Canadian Honey Council reported that in 2013-14 Canadian beekeepers lost an average of about 25 per cent of their colonies. Ontario’s losses were 58 per cent.

The University of Guelph’s Honeybee Research Centre blames a combination of disease, parasites, pesticides and habitat destruction. Last fall, scientists from the International Union for Conservation of Nature met in Ottawa to say neonics are not only fatal to bees, but also to frogs, birds, fish and earthworms.

The lawsuit claims Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency has, for more than a decade, permitted the chemicals without having adequate data on their effects. It alleges the agency asks manufacturers for more information, then repeatedly issues conditional permits despite that information never arriving.

“Health Canada has been keeping these registrations active for these pesticides for more than a decade now without properly assessing their risks,” Gue said. “We are challenging the government’s practice of issuing conditional registrations.”