My name is Ron Greidanus.
I want to thank you for your invitation to speak today on bee mortality, which has been an industry challenge for the last 30 years.
I'm here today speaking for the Alberta Beekeepers Commission and for all of those beekeepers who, across this country, do not feel heard by their own provincial associations.
The beekeeping industry needs regulatory change to address the high rates of high mortality that beekeepers are consistently experiencing. The Alberta Beekeepers Commission has the following recommendations to break the cycle of excessive rates of bee mortality. It needs prompt and meaningful action.
We have the following recommendations. The ABC recommends that Canada reverse the policy on prohibiting the importation of packaged bees from the mainland United States; that Canada and the U.S. need to develop a North American bee strategy; and that Canada needs to transition away from the mass importation of replacement stock from around the world and focus on what works here.
The reason the ABC recommends that Canada reverse the policy on prohibiting the importation of packaged bees from the mainland of the United States is that 2013 was the last time we had a risk assessment undertaken. Now we have history on our side. We are able to identify what impact the risks that were included in that risk assessment will actually have on the ground. We have history and we now have experience.
As well, we know that there are protocols that could be put in place to mitigate some of the risks that would be associated with importation from the mainland United States. Step one is CFIA completing a new risk assessment.
The second recommendation by the ABC is for Canada and the U.S. to develop a North American bee strategy. It is a fallacy to think that the 5,000 mile border that we share with the United States is a wall or a force field. It is a figment of human imagination. Pests and pathogens do not see it. They don't know it's there. Varroa, tracheal mite and small hive beetle have all come across that border into Canada.
The world is a big place and there are new threats showing up on the horizon. What comes into one country is going to eventually make its way into another country. We don't want to be the country that gives the U.S. something that keeps on giving. We need a policy in which both Canada and the U.S. will collaborate for a mutually symbiotic betterment of our industry.
The third recommendation by the ABC is that Canada needs to transition away from mass importation of replacement stock from around the world and focus on what works here. We're not asking to have the borders to the current legal sub-species of bees shut down immediately. We want to do a slow transition so that all of the players in the industry can transition thoughtfully and carefully. Knee-jerk reactions have hurt this industry significantly over the last number of years.
This year, there are 70,000 packages that will be imported into Canada to make up and fill the deficit that was incurred over the last number of years.
Access to a reliable source of replacement bee stock is key to growing a stable, vibrant honeybee pollination industry that lies at the crossroads of Canadian food security, and ensuring environmental biodiversity and sustainability. The Canadian commercial beekeeping industry needs to grow to meet the needs of what Canada can be.
My complete statement has been submitted to the committee prior to this meeting here. If you wish to read it in full, I can forward it to any of the members as they see fit.
Thank you so much for your time.