The province has
added two beekeepers to its Pesticides Advisory Committee.
Tibor Szabo, a
honeybee expert, has been appointed to a three-year term.
A backgrounder posted on a government website says “Szabo
holds Pesticide Applicators Licences (greenhouse, landscape, agricultural, and
interior plantscape), a Honeybee Queen/Nucleus Producer Permit, and served as a
member of the Premier's Ministry of Agriculture and Food working group on pollinator
health.
“Mr. Szabo's community involvement includes serving as
President of the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association.
Another beekeeper, Jim Wilson, has also been appointed
to a three-year term. He is also a breeder of falcons.
The Pesticides Advisory Committee advises the
government on pesticide regulation.
The Ontario government is in hot water with grain
farmers over its strict limitations on the use of neonicitinoid seed treatment
pesticides. Beekeepers have blamed neonicitinoid for colony collapses.
