MARKHAM, Ont. — The Ontario Beekeepers Association has not parted ways with the Canadian Honeybee Council, but it is being less supportive.
Members attending the OBA’s annual meeting in Markham Nov. 21 voted to hold back assessment fees to the CHC. The resolution cited what it called the honey council’s failure to represent the entire honeybee industry in Canada.
Tibor Szabo, a beekeeper near Guelph who seconded the motion, said there are conflicts of interest at the honey council. One relates to Bayer CropScience and Syngenta paying members for their canola pollination services in Western Canada, while the other is about the support that the companies send directly to the honey council.
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Bayer and Syngenta market neonicotinoid seed treatments, which are blamed for honeybee kills and colony decline.
“It’s ridiculous for beekeepers to oppose our efforts to restrict the prophylactic use of these system pesticides, especially when they are more toxic than anything that’s come before them,” Szabo said.
Brian Rowan, OBA’s delegate to the CHC, said it’s important to have an Ontario voice, maintain an open dialogue and share ideas at the national level.
“There’s more to this industry than butting our heads against pesticides,” he said.
“It would be ignorant to think someone in Alberta would have the same point of view as someone in the Maritimes or Ontario.”
There has been talk among OBA members about pulling out of the honey council.
