Grain
Farmers of Ontario has lost its appeal against provincial government
regulations sharply restricting the use of neonicitinoid seed treatment
pesticides.
The judges
unanimously ruled that the appeal fails because the issue is not how the
regulations are interpreted; the GFO concern is really about the legislation.
It means
that corn and soybean growers in particular will face three years of
progressively-tighter restrictions. They will basically need to prove their
fields are infested with insects and they need neonicitinoid seed treatment to
save their crops.
The GFO has
taken the battle to Queen’s Park and then the courts, but the regulations also
impact many others, including the companies that market seeds to homeowners who
grow vegetables and flowers.
The reason
the provincial politicians passed the legislation is concerns raised by
beekeepers that neonicitinoids are killing bees.
Researchers
have more recently reported that neonicitinoids disorient bees so they fail to
find their way back to hives and to revisit flower sites.
The GFO has
announced now that it is hiring BDO to calculate and continue to track the
financial impact of the neonic regulations on farmers.
