Guest Post: Nancy Goucher The protection and restoration of the Great Lakes needs to be a top priority for the province. That’s why a group of forty tourist, health, faith-based and environmental organizations (including Enviornmental Defence) sent a joint submission to the province asking for quick passage of the Great Lakes Protection Act. Whether you
On March 9, 2015, MPP Marie- France Lalonde introduced a private member’s bill to ban the manufacture and use of microbeads in products in Ontario. The Microbead Elimination and Monitoring Act would prohibit the manufacture of microbeads and the addition of microbeads to cosmetic and household products, while ensuring an analysis and examination of the
Yesterday, Friends of the Earth Canada, in collaboration with a number of other organizations, sent a letter and report to all Ontario MPP’s in support of Ontario’s proposed plan to reduce the use of neonicotinoid pesticides by 80% on coated corn and soy seed within the province. The report outlined the five major reasons we
I greet the spring with great enthusiasm – now, we can change our boots for running shoes, and put away our scarves and mitts. However- along with the melting snow comes the signs of our addiction to road salt. A dirty grey crust of salt is visible on boots, cars and trucks, sidewalks, parking garages
In 2013, the European Commission placed a two-year moratorium on the use of three neonicotinoid insecticides (clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiametoxam) after a growing body of scientific research demonstrated their potential to harm honeybees and wild bees. Given the importance of bees in the ecosystem and the food chain, the EU decided to follow a precautionary
Friends of the Earth welcomes Ontario’s plan to engage its citizens in determining best steps to build a new, clean, low carbon economy. While Ontario citizens are among the largest per capita emitters of greenhouse gases in the world, we know they can and have already embraced significant steps to reduce ghgs. It’s the right
By Gideon Forman and Beatrice Olivastri Back in November, the Ontario government signaled its intention to reduce the use of “neonic” pesticides on corn and soy seed by 80% by 2017. A prime motivator for the proposal was a new analysis from the Task Force on Systemic Pesticides—a group of 29 independent scientists from around
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
December 12, 2014 Ana Isla and Terisa Turner What is happening in the Conference of the Parties at Lima Peru? Corporations and governments are interested in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. However this reduction is, for them, problematic. Recent science shows that rather than providing real emissions reductions all programs that are presented as means for
In a North American first, the Ontario government has introduced their plan to permanently reduce use of systemic neurotoxin pesticides by 80% by 2017. They’ve picked the biggest opportunity in Ontario to make change to protect pollinator health. Of the almost seven million acres of field crops planted each year in Ontario, the two largest
