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.... In terms of the trend, it's been generally trending upward. We took that trend line for Alberta specifically and superimposed the trend line for canola acreage, and those two lines are almost parallel. As the acreage of canola increased, the number of colonies also increased. For us to believe that neonics are having a significant impact on the chronic health of bees...the numbers don't match up.
On May 7th, 2013. See this statement in context.