New federal government regulation proposes to kill wild fish to protect fish farms

Posted By: Friends of the Earth Canada Comments Off on New federal government regulation proposes to kill wild fish to protect fish farms

This proposed regulation would impact all coastal provinces; Federal regulation of fresh water aquaculture ignored (OTTAWA, ON, Oct 22, 2014) Proposed regulations for the aquaculture industry do not deliver on the responsibilities of Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ (DFO) to protect wild fish, fish habitat and Canadian fishery waters from the negative impacts of aquaculture, according

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Kill wild fish to protect farmed fish? I don’t think so

Posted By: Friends of the Earth Canada Comments Off on Kill wild fish to protect farmed fish? I don’t think so

The proposed regulation for the aquaculture industry misses the mark by a mile (well, a kilometre) – and what is the mark you may well ask? The Minister of Fisheries and Oceans has a duty to protect wild fish, fish habitat and Canadian fisheries waters from the negative impact of aquaculture.  Why is she abdicating

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Guest Blog Post: Pollinators and Your Winter Garden

Posted By: Friends of the Earth Canada Comments Off on Guest Blog Post: Pollinators and Your Winter Garden

Are You Getting Ready to Put Your Garden to Bed for the Winter? Kimberley Fellows, Pollination Outreach Co-ordinator for Pollination Canada, a project of Seeds of Diversity, was kind enough to contribute the following guest blog post on preparing your garden for winter. Kimberley shares some tips to keep in mind to keep your soil and

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Premier Wynne’s Mandate Letters- Marching Orders in Ontario to Protect Pollinators

Posted By: Friends of the Earth Canada Comments Off on Premier Wynne’s Mandate Letters- Marching Orders in Ontario to Protect Pollinators

In a move for transparency, Ontario Premier Kathleen Wynne has made public her mandate letters to the ministers of her cabinet. In this blog post, we are cherry picking points from her letters related to pollinator health. Among her opening statements she says, “The people of Ontario have entrusted their government to be a force for good,” and

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Local Governments Step Up To Support Bee Health – So Can You

Posted By: Friends of the Earth Canada Comments Off on Local Governments Step Up To Support Bee Health – So Can You

Prince Edward County took a step that all communities can take. They passed a resolution asking the federal and provincial governments to declare a moratorium on the use of neonicotinoid pesticides as soon as possible pending further study. While they are very clear that agriculture is the foundation of their municipality, they also state the

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Who Speaks for Canada’s Wild Bees?

Posted By: Friends of the Earth Canada Comments Off on Who Speaks for Canada’s Wild Bees?

The news for honey bees is grim. Again. The Canadian Association of Professional Apiculturists (CAPA) delivered their national report on winter-kill of honey bees. Ontario’s loss at 58 %, a jaw-dropping number, is homogenized into the average for the country at 25% – still considered high when compared to the “acceptable” winter losses considered to

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Fear Mongering by the Chemical Industry

Posted By: Friends of the Earth Canada Comments Off on Fear Mongering by the Chemical Industry

Last week, I applauded Ontario’s Agriculture Minister Jeff Leal for his decision to restrict the use of neoniotinoids on farmers’ fields. To be clear, I would prefer an outright ban, but this is an important and pragmatic step to substantially reduce use of these bee-killing pesticides and shows leadership on the North American stage. According

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Northern Ontario citizens want bee-safe plants and seeds

Posted By: Friends of the Earth Canada Comments Off on Northern Ontario citizens want bee-safe plants and seeds

See press releases for other areas below.   Friends of the Earth Canada finds overwhelming support in Northern Ontario for action by gardeners and farmers to save bees from neonicotinoids (Ottawa, ON, July 7, 2014) A poll commissioned by Friends of the Earth Canada indicates very significant public concern about the use of bee-killing pesticides

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