OTTAWA – The Green Party of Canada urges Harper’s Conservatives to follow the European Commission’s lead and ban the neonicotinoid pesticides (Imidacloprid, Clothianidin and Thiamethoxam) blamed for destroying bee populations.
The use of three pesticides, which attack the bees’ nervous system, will be restricted on December 1st 2013 in response to the European Food Safety Authority's scientific report, which identified "high acute risks" for bees.
“I believe the precautionary principle should guide our action here. Canada can stand up to the chemical industry. It’s a matter of political will,” said Green Leader Elizabeth May, Member of Parliament for Saanich-Gulf Islands.
“Neonicotinoids are another example of the negative long-term consequences of pesticides. Any advantage to individual crops is wiped out by the massive destruction of crop pollinators across the country and the resulting drop in productivity of many of our food crops,” said Kate Storey, Green Party’s Agriculture Critic.
“It would be economically smarter to ban neonicotinoids and put research into organic ways of working with nature,” added Storey.
Bees’ contribution to European agriculture is evaluated at $29 billion annually.
-30-
Media Contact:
Stéphane Vigneault
Communications Coordinator, Green Party of Canada
cell: 613.614.4916