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Provincial, federal bureaucrats dominate Ontario’s bee health committee

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In Agriculture
Sep 10th, 2013
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By Kate Harries AWARE News Network September 10 2013
Listed below are the members of the Ontario Bee Health Working Group, from a list on the Ontario government website. Most of the committee is made up of the very bureaucrats, federal and provincial, that have allowed the use of neonicotinoids.

In the Ontario government’s initial announcement, beekeepers headed the list of categories to be represented on the committee. ‘The Bee Health Working Group will be comprised of beekeepers, farmers, agri-business representatives, scientists, and staff from both federal and provincial government agencies,” the government proclaimed. But as is evident from the list below, they form a tiny proportion of the 33-member committee looking into the potential risk to honey bees from exposure to neonicotinoid –  a pesticide used for corn and soybeans.
Chair Deb Sikora, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Vice-Chair Gavin Downing, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Secretary Pam Young, Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Members
Twelve provincial bureaucrats (including the chair, vice-chair and secretary)
Tracey Baute Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Denise Beaton Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Hugh Berges Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Horst Bohner Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Paul Kozak Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Aileen MacNeil Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Dawn Pate Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Gilles Quesnel Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Greg Stewart Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Ministry of Rural Affairs
Seven federal bureaucrats
Steve Klose Ministry of the Environment
Anne Neary Ministry of the Environment
Lorna Poff Ministry of the Environment
Michelle Gillespie Pest Management Regulatory Agency
Connie Hart Pest Management Regulatory Agency
Tim MacDonald Pest Management Regulatory Agency
Mary Mitchell Pest Management Regulatory Agency
Three beekeepers
Jim Coneybeare Ontario Beekeepers’ Association
Dan Davidson Ontario Beekeepers’ Association
Tibor Szabo Ontario Beekeepers’ Association
One NGO (non-governmental organization)
Peter Kevan Canadian Pollination Initiative
One academic
Dr. Ernesto Guzman University of Guelph
Four farmers
Larry Freeman Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Mark Reusser Ontario Federation of Agriculture
Kevin Armstrong Grain Farmers of Ontario
John Cowan Grain Farmers of Ontario
Two agribusiness
Stephen Denys Canadian Seed Trade Association
Howard Mains Association of Equipment Manufacturers
Three pesticide manufacturers
Keith Ardiel Bayer CropScience Canada
Paul Hoekstra Syngenta
Maria Trainer Crop Life Canada

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