Question Period Note: Regulatory Action Concerning Neonicotinoids

Health Canada recently announced decisions regarding the cancellation and/or restricted use of two neonicotinoid pesticides (clothianidin and thiamethoxam) in the agricultural sector. What measures are you taking to support the sector?

FIRST RESPONSE:

1. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada supports the rigorous, science-based regulation of pesticides in Canada to ensure they continue to meet modern health, safety and environmental standards.

2. The Government continues to work with stakeholders to identify potential alternatives to neonicotinoids, including through research.

3. Phase out periods will be permitted to allow farmers to make appropriate on-farm adjustments and acquire alternative pest control products.

    

BACKGROUND:

Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is responsible for registering pesticides for use in Canada. The neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid was approved by PMRA for agricultural and veterinary use in 1995. Clothianidin and thiamethoxam were registered for use in the early 2000s. Registered pesticides are re-evaluated every 15 years. Their prevalence in agriculture and media linkages to pollinator health have raised the profile of these products within the general public.

These three neonicotinoids are key insecticides used on canola, soybeans, corn, horticulture crops (such as potatoes and carrots), and to a lesser extent wheat and barley. In 2020, total farm cash receipts for grains, oilseeds, pulses, and special crops totaled $28.6 billion and $8.4 billion for horticulture crops.

Since November 2016, PMRA has announced a series of proposed re-evaluation and special review decisions around neonicotinoid pesticides. Many of these proposed decisions include a risk management plan to phase-out of all agricultural uses of these products. Concurrently with the first announcement, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) established the Multi-Stakeholder Forum on Neonicotinoids (MSF) to bring together a group of agricultural industry and environmental stakeholders, academics and officials from implicated federal and provincial government departments to discuss transition and mitigation strategies.

The PMRA’s final decisions on uses of all three neonicotinoids had been delayed following the receipt of new scientific papers and additional information from the public, provinces, the agriculture industry and AAFC’s water monitoring working group, established under the MSF. The PMRA confirmed that the information and data provided by the MSF had proven crucial in its assessments.

On March 31, 2021, the PMRA announced its final special review decisions for clothianidin and thiamethoxam, in relation to aquatic invertebrates. In its final decisions, the PMRA announced that some uses will be maintained, while others will be restricted or cancelled. A final cyclical re-evaluation decision of imidacloprid, which will include an evaluation of risks to aquatic invertebrates, is anticipated in April 2021.

The public profile of these products will also contribute to these decisions receiving more public and media exposure than usual pesticide evaluation decisions. This exposure will likely link neonicotinoids to pollinator health, despite these particular reviews being focussed on aquatic invertebrates and other human and environmental risks (see below for more details around pollinators). Furthermore, the success of environmental data collection efforts led by the MSF is likely to cause the agriculture industry to continue to call for the establishment of a PMRA-led National Water Monitoring Program. Budget 2021 did not include a commitment to fund the creation of such a program. Budget 2021 does however propose $17.4 million over two years to Environment and Climate Change Canada for the establishment of the Canada Water Agency. Whether a National Water Monitoring Program could be housed within the Canada Water Agency has yet to be determined.

In April 2018, the European Union announced its decision to completely ban all outdoor uses of neonicotinoids due to pollinator concerns.

In January 2020, the United States (U.S.) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed interim registration review decision on neonicotinoids, identifying risks of concern for both aquatic vertebrates and honeybees. While a final decision on the use of neonicotinoids in the U.S. is still to come, the EPA has proposed risk mitigation measures to be implemented in the interim.

The crops and horticulture sectors in Canada are expected to be relieved by these recent decisions and about the fact that some uses will be maintained, given that the proposed decisions were a complete cancellation of all uses. Sectors where uses are cancelled or significantly reduced will likely seek alternative products, which could have an on-farm economic impact if those alternatives are less effective, more expensive or less readily-available.

Pollinators

On April 11, 2019, Health Canada published the final re-evaluation decisions for imidacloprid, clothianidin and thiamethoxam in relation to their potential impact on bees and other pollinators. The scientific assessments showed varying effects on bees and other pollinators from exposure to each of these pesticides. Health Canada cancelled some uses of these pesticides, and changed other conditions of use such as restricting the timing of application. Remaining uses (e.g., treatment on canola seeds and greenhouse vegetables) were found to not pose unacceptable risks to bees and other pollinators.

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