Province to cut some neonic-seed restrictions

TORONTO — Ontario’s neonicotinoid pesticide restrictions will be significantly rolled back by the province.

Tucked away inside Bill 132, an omnibus bill the province put forward last month, is a provision to reduce or eliminate many of the neonicotinoid pesticide restrictions introduced by the previous government.

While not everything is being rolled back, the changes are nevertheless quite significant, said Pierre Petelle, president and CEO of Crop Life Canada.

That includes allowing farmers to access neonics with a one-time risk assessment that farmers can do themselves and farmers only have to take the Integrated Pest Management course once.

Current rules require farmers to have a new assessment report done by an agronomist every three years.

Said Petelle: “The fact that this government is moving in the right direction in removing this unnecessary burden is a tremendous achievement for the ag sector.”