Posted September 9, 2014
Canadian beekeepers are suing crop pesticide companies for more than $400 million in damages, according to a CBC article available here. Bloomberg also published an article here and Farmers Weekly here.
A recent blog post on bees and neonicotinoids is available here.
The class action lawsuit was filed on behalf of all Canadian beekeepers by Sun Parlor Honey Ltd. and Munro Honey, the two largest Ontario honey producers, and alleges that pesticide use resulted in bee colony deaths.
“The goal is to stop the use of the neonicotinoids to stop the harm to the bees and the beekeepers,” said Paula Lombardi, a lawyer with London, Ont.-based law firm Siskinds LLP, which is handling the case. 
The alleged losses include weak or dead bees, non-productive queen bees and colonies, contaminated wax, combs, and hives, reduced honey production and profits, and other labor and supply costs, according to Farmers Weekly.
Neonicotinoids are used as a seed coating in soybean, maize, and oilseed rape crops to resist crop pests.
Bayer and Syngenta have stated that the risk to bee health is low when the pesticides are used according to the guidelines indicated on their labels.
A hearing date has yet to be set by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, according to Bloomberg.
In 2013, the European Commission imposed a two-year ban on the “sale and use of neonicotinoid insecticides containing clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam for seed treatment, soil application and use on plants and cereals that are attractive to bees, except winter cereals.”
For more information on environmental law, please visit the National Agricultural Law Center’s website here.
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