Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Scott Kirby, director general of the environmental assessment directorate at Health Canada's pest management regulatory agency (PMRA). We are the federal regulator of pesticides and so we are very interested in all potential impacts of agricultural pesticides on health and the environment, including bee health.
As you may be aware, in 2012, a large number of honey bee mortality incidents were reported in Ontario, and following a detailed investigation, we concluded that they were related to the dust generated during the planting of corn and soybean seed treated with neonicotinoid insecticides.
In response to the incidents, PMRA has worked with growers and pesticide manufacturers to implement mandatory mitigation measures since 2014. These measures included the use of dust-reducing seed flow lubricants, the use of best management practices for safer seed planting, and adding enhanced warnings and directions on how to protect bees on the seed package labels.
With these mitigation measures in place, the number of incidents reported during the planting periods of 2014 and 2015 decreased by approximately 70% and 80% respectively from the numbers reported in 2013, which is a significant improvement. Corn and soybean planting in 2016 are essentially complete, and although we are still collecting information, we are cautiously optimistic that the positive trend we've observed in the past two years will continue.
As you are aware, bee health is a complex issue, and more work is required to understand non-pesticide related issues. We are continuing to collaborate with all stakeholders, including the provinces, and we continue to monitor bee incidents.
In addition to our work on bee incidents, we are also conducting a scientific re-evaluation of all uses of the neonicotinoid insecticides. This evaluation uses a new pollinator risk assessment framework, which was developed together with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the California Department of Pesticide Regulation. This framework represents an advancement in how we assess the risks posed by pesticides to bees and allows improved pollinator protection in our regulatory decisions and risk mitigation measures.
Finally, the PMRA continues to participate in several national and international fora on bee health, including the bee health round table led by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, to address this important issue for Canadian agriculture.
Mr. Chair and committee members, I hope you have found my update informative. I look forward to your questions.