NEONICOTINOID PESTICIDES AND BEES

Last Friday's Waterloo Region Record carried an Opinion piece by John Bennet, the executive director of Sierra Club Canada. The title was "Ban neonicotinoid pesticides as a precaution". Mr. Bennet's article referenced one published approximately a week earlier by Terry Daynard that was in favour of retaining these pesticides for use on corn and soy crops.

Mr. Bennet quotes numerous groups and studies which have scientifically implicated neonicotinoids as being detrimental to bees. These include Health Canada's pest management regulatory agency. Last year the Quebec government tested for and found neonicotinoid pesticides at detectable levels in 16 different rivers. This is astounding for a pesticide that has only been in use for a decade. Finally corn has grown sucessfully without this pesticide for generations and can continue to do so. Bees on the other hand are sufferring tremendous losses which will affect pollination of many crops. Is it again necessary to nearly wipe out a species as was done with DDT and birds of prey? Can we not embrace the precautionary principle and act sooner rather than later?