In the context of neonics, first of all, globally there is a concern for pollinators and the troubles that pollinators like bees are having in terms of population declines globally. There is a concern about that. That concern is based on potentially a lot of factors, from climate change to diseases, pests of bees themselves, and possibly pesticides. Canada like all OECD countries, including at the OECD where we chair a working group, is having discussions about whether or not we can tease apart what is happening to the pollinator populations. If pesticides are a part of that, what can we do about that?
Within Canada itself we have had some bee mortality incidents with neonics, but they've been very much restricted to really high, intense corn and soybean growing regions of southern Ontario and a few in Quebec. We believe those incidents are probably the result of some of the agricultural practice that has resulted in dust going off those corn and soybean planting areas from seeds that were treated with the neonics possibly harming the bees.
We're working with stakeholders to try to mitigate that link. In the last couple of years we've worked very closely with agricultural stakeholders—the growers, the manufacturers, the beekeepers, the provinces—to come up with ways to mitigate those risks to bees. So far we've had some success. Last spring, for example, we saw about a 70% reduction in the bee mortality rate we had seen in the previous spring. We've had some success. We still have a lot of work to do to make sure we're protecting bees.
Together with the United States EPA, the California Department of Pesticide Regulation, and our international counterparts, we have been doing an extensive scientific reassessment and re-evaluation of these neonic pesticides right across their use spectrum to make sure they can continue to be used safely.
As I say, the only direct link at the moment is with corn and soybeans in southern Ontario.