Health Canada announced new mitigation measures today on the neonicotinoids clothianidin and thiamethoxam, pesticides which are sold as seed treatment or sprays to protect agricultural crops from various insects.
A statement from the Grain Growers of Canada said modern grain farmers “utilize a diverse and innovative toolbox of crop protection products, including neonicotinoids.”
The statement says clothianidin and thiamethoxam “are not expected to affect bees,” when used as a seed treatment — a view many environmental organizations dispute.
The PMRA is updating the pollinator risk assessment for imidacloprid based on additional data from the registrant, additional literature that has recently been published, and the comments that were received during the public consultation period for the preliminary assessment (REV2016-05, Re-evaluation of Imidacloprid – Preliminary Pollinator Assessment). The PMRA expects to publish a proposed decision regarding imidacloprid pollinator safety in March 2018.
Read more on the proposed clothianidin and thiamethoxam re-evaluation decisions:
- PRVD2017-23: Proposed Re-evaluation Decision on Clothianidin and Its Associated End-use Products: Pollinator Re-evaluation
- PRVD2017-24: Proposed Re-evaluation Decision on Thiamethoxam and Its Associated End-use Products: Pollinator Re-evaluation
