quiterre pushes Ottawa to speed up plan to ban bee-killing pesticides

A Montreal-based environmental group is demanding that Ottawa move faster toban the pesticidesblamed for killing off Canada's beesand damaging wildlife.

"Once you've decided the science is clear, that it is having a huge impact on such an important species as bees which are so important for agriculture in general because of pollination then it would make sense for them to ban it right away," SidneyRibaux told CBC Montreal's Daybreak Tuesday.

Ribaux is the co-founder and executive director ofquiterre a non-profit environmental group that has been pushing for the federal ban onneonicotinoids, also known asneonics.

The nicotine-based pesticides areproven to be a danger to bees, as well as other species,such as frogs, birds, fish and earthworms.

In an open letter and petition on its website, quiterreis asking Canada to respondas other countries already have, which is to "ban [neonics]right away," Ribaux said.

Instead, Health Canada'sPest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is proposing a risk-management plan that phases out two out of threeneonicotinoid imidacloprid pesticides clothianidin and thiamethoxam over a three- to five-year period.

Health Canada has said final decisions on the pesticides will be made at the end of 2019.

"The department can immediately cancel or make changes to how a product can be used if it is found to be seriously impacting human health or the environment, or if there is a high likelihood of serious or severe effects occurring from its continued use,"Health Canada spokespersonGeoffroyLegault-ThiviergetoldCBCNews Tuesday.

"Health Canada will continue to review new scientific information as it becomes available."

HealthCanadascientists have already reviewed more than 1,000 scientific studies related toneonicotinoids,the agency said in August.

Proposed ban may not go into full effect until 2025

Thethree-to-five-year phase-out wouldn't begin until the proposal is approved, meaning it may not come until full effect until 2025 a delay Ribaux describes as "ridiculous."

"If you had medication that was on the market that was killing people, then you wouldn't wait seven years before taking it off the market," he said. "You would take it off right away."

quiterre's demand that Ottawa address the issue is not new, as the PMRA has been studying neonics since 2012 while environmental groups and scientists alike have long pushed for a ban.

Neonics use up

"Over the last decade, the amount of neonicotinoids used in agriculture has increased substantially," states Health Canada in an August statement.

Health Canada'sre-evaluation ofneonicotinoidsidentified "that it was being measured at levels that are harmful to certain aquatic insect populations, a critical food source for fish, birds and other animals."

The three-year phase-out will allow for the orderly removal of product from the marketplace and alternatives to be identified, Legault-Thiviergesaid. Five years may be needed to develop new alternatives where none are available, he added.

Yetmany of these pesticides are banned byEuropean Union, and alternatives are already readily available, countersRibaux.

Quebec, Ontario establish provincial bans

Ontario limited use of the pesticides in 2015, and its regulationswent into full effect last year.

Quebec has also unveiled its own to restrict the use of pesticides, includingall three types of neonicotinoids, while Vancouver and Montreal have both banned their use entirely within city limits.