Agriculture Committee on May 31st, 2023

[Frédéric Bissonnette]

The growers will usually be in contact with the company to flag such issues, and they will let us know of these things. Sometimes, in terms of timelines, if something is really pressing, we might consider emergency registration. We have a process. I don't think resistance is usually a factor for emergency registration, but there is an option for an accelerated timeline if there's a really pressing issue. It's working with all the stakeholders, but as a regulator, we can't really go.... It would be a bit awkward for us to seek a registrant to come add a product to the market. Usually the growers will do that, sometimes in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

I'll cite one that is being used. It's called amitraz. Are you currently looking at the growing resistance to that particular product, or are you awaiting initiation by the company that sells it?

[Frédéric Bissonnette]

We're aware of the resistance to amitraz. We're not necessarily proactively talking to the company. We pretty much have all the active ingredients registered elsewhere in the world right now. There is some biotech development. Some companies are developing new types of products that they are doing research on to see if they would work, and when they come talk to us, we obviously consider the current situation. Obviously, everything needs to pass the risk assessment.

[Alistair MacGregor, NDP, Cowichan—Malahat—Langford, BC]

Do you have anything to add from the CFIA's perspective?

[Dr. Parthi Muthukumarasamy]

Certainly, amitraz-resistant varroa mites are one of our hazards, one of our concerns, that we include when we do the risk assessment. When there is varroa resistance in another country that wants to export to Canada, certainly the CFIA will be looking at that from a risk assessment perspective because it introduces varroa resistance to Canada. We already heard in the committee that there are very few treatment products available for varroa mites, and we don't want to introduce any resistance into the Canadian bee population through importation.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Thank you very much, gentlemen.

Mr. Viersen, go ahead for five minutes, please.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Thank you.

Mr. Winter, I imagine your being from New York state means you're close to Canada. I'm wondering whether you have a relationship with Canadian beekeepers and if there is any difference in the kinds of diseases and threats we deal with on our side of the border compared to where you're operating.

[Daniel Winter]

The American Beekeeping Federation has several members who are Canadian beekeepers. They come down to our annual convention every year. Most of the pests in that risk assessment, I think, are already in Canada. That is my understanding anyway.

Things like varroa resistance are very minor. If the tropilaelaps mite—I can't stress that enough—comes to North America, we are in big trouble. I think that's the most important thing to look at right now.

Dr. Frank Rinkevich at the USDA lab in Baton Rouge has some great studies on amitraz resistance. I'm sure you can look those up online. Some of those studies.... They're all public information. I urge you to take a look at those, because there is amitraz resistance. I think it's everywhere.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Mr. Winter, would you recommend a North American bee strategy?

[Daniel Winter]

I would. I think we should work together, share science and see whether we can make this happen. Obviously, being proactive is far better than being reactive. If we get into a situation where we have to react to the tropilaelaps mite, it's going to be catastrophic for our industry.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Thank you.

Mr. Bissonnette, we had several beekeeping association beekeepers at this committee earlier this year. One thing they were frustrated with was.... They tell me there is a way to deal with the mites that's not approved yet.

Are you familiar with this? Have you seen this testimony? What's the hold-up?

[Frédéric Bissonnette]

I read the transcripts. I believe we have a product with the same active ingredient, but not that particular one. The company obviously needs to seek a registration, and then we would do a risk assessment.

Connie, do you have anything to add on your end?

[Dr. Connie Hart, Senior Science Advisor, Environmental Assessment Directorate, Pest Management Regulatory Agency, Department of Health]

I don't think we have received a submission for registering it, at this point. I think there may have been discussions and presubmission consultations, but we have not received the application for that product to register.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Can you name the product? What's the active ingredient we're dealing with?

[Dr. Connie Hart]

The product that was raised in one of the previous hearings.... It was about an application method for oxalic acid—a different way of applying it. I believe that's what you're referring to.

I could turn this over to Steve Pernal, who would be more familiar with developments in that area.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Thank you.

To the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, from your perspective, is there a significant difference in the disease profile of America versus Canada? We've heard from beekeepers. They're saying the diseases they're dealing with in North Dakota are the same as the diseases we're dealing with in northern Alberta. It doesn't make sense that we can't take the bees from one place to the other, because there are no differences in the way we're keeping bees or the diseases we're fighting.

Could you talk a little about that?

[Dr. Parthi Muthukumarasamy]

Thank you for the question.

We demonstrated that there is a different level of risk and disease prevalence between Canada and the U.S. That is the basis of the risk assessment and the decision to restrict the import of packaged bees into Canada.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Is there a disease the Americans have that we don't have?

[Dr. Parthi Muthukumarasamy]

For example, the Americans have Africanized bees in California, and they are moving north every year. We don't have Africanized bees in Canada. Africanized bees, as you know, have undesirable traits, such as more aggressive swarms and bees—

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

However, Africanized bees are not a disease.

[Dr. Parthi Muthukumarasamy]

It is a pest we are concerned about.

In terms of the small hive beetle, for example, that's another parasite that is present. While it is in the U.S., it's only sporadic in localized areas in Canada. However, we also have excellent control programs in the provinces that manage bee health and ensure these, for example, small hive beetles do not spread to other parts of the country or within the province.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Would there be opportunities to do assessments on individual states?

[Dr. Parthi Muthukumarasamy]

That depends. Each state has a different disease prevalence and disease status.

There are opportunities to look at a zone, but they need significant scientific information and assessment in terms of, again, the prevalence of the disease: when they last had outbreaks, what kind of surveillance they have in place and what natural barriers are present that don't allow the disease to come into a state. There are a number of scientific parameters and risk mitigation options that CFIA would look at, if there is scientific evidence provided for us.

[Arnold Viersen, Conservative, Peace River—Westlock, AB]

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Kody Blois]

Let's go to Ms. Taylor Roy.