Environmental groups want federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose to reconsider Health Canada's decision to re-approve a pesticide — severely restricted in Europe and linked to massive bee die-offs in Canada — for use on fruits, potatoes and turf.

 

Lawyers from the Canadian Environmental Law Association and Ecojustice have filed a Notice of Objection with the health minister on behalf of Sierra Club Canada, Wilderness Committee, David Suzuki Foundation and Équiterre. The objection concerns Health Canada's recent decision to renew the registration for clothianidin, a neonicotinoid pesticide toxic to bees, which the groups say should be banned in Canada.

 

Over the past two years, massive bee die-offs reported in Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec were linked to the use of neonicotinoid pesticides. In addition, a growing body of scientific literature documents the adverse effects of neonicotinoids on the foraging and homing behaviour of bees, as well as metabolic, immune and reproductive functions.