Health committee  We feel that the measures in place have gone a long way to addressing any issues.

Health committee  In actual fact, what I also said was that some groups are not making use of the provisions in the act. In the act there is a provision to access all of that information in detail in a reading room. Obviously, confidential business information is removed, but anyone can request to go and look at all of that data in its rawest form, and if they have the understanding of the science, to come to their own conclusions as to whether or not PMRA did the assessment according to how they're supposed to.

Health committee  From our perspective, regulatory data is one thing. Regulatory data is what's required for your submission, and it's outlined very prescriptively by the PMRA in terms of which data are required to satisfy which elements of the review. Those are the data that our members provide as part of the registration.

Health committee  But the act is very clear that any data pertaining to an active ingredient that is provided to the PMRA or that the PMRA is made aware of has to be part of the decision-making process. It may just be a procedural thing rather than a gap per se.

Health committee  Just in broad strokes, we support the fact that things like the Regulatory Cooperation Council work, and in terms of the red tape reduction strategy, where regulations take into account the burden they're putting on industry, that this be taken into account. But no, in terms of the current provisions of the act and the regulations, we're not asking for any specific reductions.

Health committee  Mr. Chair and members of the committee, I would like to thank you for inviting us to be here today. I am Pierre Petelle, and I am the vice-president of Chemistry at CropLife Canada. On behalf of the association's member companies, I am pleased to provide these remarks on the review of the Pest Control Products Act.

Agriculture committee  Even before the spring of 2012, back in early 2011, our industry recognized that one of the partners, one of the stakeholders, that we didn't have enough dialogue or interaction with was the beekeeping community. We have very good relationships with all the major grower groups. We understand each other.

Agriculture committee  I think as long as pneumatic planters have been around it's been used as a lubricant to make sure that seed gets delivered right in the proper—

Agriculture committee  Yes.

Agriculture committee  Yes.

Agriculture committee  No. Again, I think you have some western beekeepers speaking to you later, but the colony numbers increased as the acreage did. The other thing I'd like to point out is that in our industry many of our member companies are into canola seed production as well, and canola seed production relies on pollination services to pollinate the plant.

Agriculture committee  In terms of research into new products, that's an ongoing initiative. Especially our R and D member companies are continually looking for new solutions for a variety of different pest pressures that growers face. It's not just to replace products that are currently on the market; it is to make sure there are enough different modes of action out there to delay resistance development, for example, if you're always using the same product.

Agriculture committee  With the acute loses that were seen last year in Ontario, PMRA did some analysis and did find levels of neonic insecticide in some of the dead bee samples. Clearly the insecticide was in those bees. It was detected. Was it a contributing factor in their deaths? The conclusion from PMRA is that, yes, it was likely a contributing factor in the deaths.

Agriculture committee  I think you have some actual beekeeper witnesses later that might be more qualified to answer this, but simply based on what we have as public information...Statistics Canada does track the number of colonies in Canada. Other than a few dips for a number of reasons, when the borders were closed, etc....

Agriculture committee  Again, I don't profess to be a bee expert, but John mentioned a study. The U.S. Department of Agriculture just released a fairly significant paper, and in it they're very clear that this is multifactorial. Pesticides are one very small component. In fact, I think they said it's one of the least significant components, and that hive health through nutrition could probably solve most of the issues they're experiencing, at least in the U.S.