With over 700 native species of pollinators in Canada, bees are the most common pollinators and critical to our food source.
Bees are critical to the production of many crops and play an essential ecological role. 1 out of every 3 bites of food you put into your mouth was pollinated by bees. Crops that depend on the work of pollinators include tree and berry fruits, canola, alfalfa, squash and melons.
It is also known that certain pesticides can pose an immediate, or "acute", threat to bees. They will die if exposed to these chemicals, or take the poison back to their hives.
That's why we need immediate and urgent restrictions on spraying pesticides on flowering crops or weeds where bees may be present. The spraying of Knotweed by Federal, Provincial or Municipal workers needs to be restricted to a non pollinating time or to cut the flowers off before spraying as bees are attracted to Knotweed. In Canada, spraying Knotweed is very common because it is known as an "invasive species." However, we should not kill off bees in the process!
Please sign the petition to protect the bees and change the dates of spraying of Knotweed. Also if this practise can also be revisited to include a biodegradable, non-toxic substance that would be the optimal solution. As some bee species are on the endangered list, this is a simple change that will have a massive impact.
