What does it mean when people of every political persuasion feel that the government of the day is on the right track in limiting the use of neonics by 80% in treated corn and soy seed in an effort to save bees?

Of those who would vote Liberal today, 85% think that the government is on the right track with their proposal to reduce neonicotinoid use to save bees. Of those who would vote Conservative, 81% believe the government is on the right track. Of those who would vote NDP, 80% agree with the proposals targets, and 100% of those who would vote Green believe the proposal is on the mark.

The bee issue resonates broadly and deeply with Ontario residents. Rarely do you see such consensus.

Despite what pesticide manufacturers would have you believe, there’s harmony between urban and rural folk when it comes to protecting bees.

Our polling shows that 78.4% of self-described rural respondents and 78.7% of urban respondents agree that the government is on the right track to save bees with their target 80% reduction of neonics.

Click here to read the polling results from Friends of the Earth Canada, the Ontario Bee Keepers Association and the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment

We all know that we need bee-action. We all know that bees – wild ones and managed ones – are necessary for food security.

We know that there’s much more to do on other uses of neonicotinoids, but tackling the greatest use in 100% of coated corn seed and 60% of soy seed is the best place to start. I hope you will join me and other friends of the Earth in posting your positive comments on the Registry for the Environmental Bill of Rights. It’s your right – and responsibility – to comment if you’re a resident of Ontario.

Click here to Read Ontario’s Proposal Pollinator Health

Click here to Submit your comments on Ontario’s proposal. Deadline to submit comments: January 25, 2015.