PMRA continues to register bee-killing pesticides

MEDIA RELEASE, August 8, 2014

OTTAWA--Despite the Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s (PMRA) decision to re-evaluate neonicotinoid pesticides, it is still registering new products containing the bee-killing pesticides.

“The Canadian government is attempting to deceive Canadians into believing it’s taking action on bee-killing pesticides when it is cleary not,” said John Bennett, National Program Director of the Sierra Club Canada Foundation (SCCF). “It’s a ruse. This government clearly isn’t taking the ecological threat seriously.

In June 2012, the PMRA announced its decision to initiate a re-evaluation of three bee-killing neonicotinoid insecticides (clothianidin, thiamethoxam, and imidacloprid--all banned in Europe) to assess the potential risk to pollinators. However, in just the past two weeks since SCCF started creating its own neonicotinoid database, the PMRA has changed the status of two product applications from “Pending (Registration)” to “Registered.”

The two neonicotinoid products in question, NipsIt Suite Canola Seed Protectant and NipsIt Suite Cereals of Seed Protectant, are both manufactured by Valent Canada Inc. Both products contain the active ingredient clothianidin, one of the bee-killing neonicotinoid pesticides banned in Europe and under ‘re-evaluation’ in Canada.

“Clothianidin was banned by the EU in 2013 and it should be banned in Canada too,” said Mr. Bennett.

Currently registered neonicotinoid pesticide products, and those pending registration and under re-evaluation are listed in the PMRA’s Public Registry Pesticide Product Information Database.

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John Bennett, National Program Director
Sierra Club Canada Foundation
1510-1 Nicholas Street
Ottawa, Ontario K1N 7B7
Tel: 613-291-6888
jb@sierraclub.ca
John on Twitter / Bennett Blog


BACKGROUNDER


1) PRODUCT NAME: NipsIt Suite Canola Seed Protectant
Manufacturer: Valent Canada Inc.
Application #: 2010-6217
Registration number: 31355
Date Application was received: Dec. 20, 2010
Status: Was pending. Became a registered product on July 24, 2014 for commercial use on canola, carinata, and rapeseed.
No section 12 notice.

2) PRODUCT NAME: NipsIt Suite Cereals of Seed Protectant
Manufacturer: Valent Canada, Inc.
Application #: 2011-4802

Registration #: 31357
Date Application was received: Oct. 11, 2011
Status: Was pending. Became a registered product on July 24, 2014 for commercial use on wheat.
No Section 12 notice.

In addition to continuing to register more neonicotinoid products while neonicotinoids are under review, the PMRA is also still accepting new applications for products with active ingredient clothianidin. The most recent application submitted to the PMRA for a product with active ingredient clothianidin was received on July 30th:

APPLICATION #: 2014-2822
Date Application was received: July 30, 2014
Status: Pending

All other information belonging to this application in the Public Registry database is labeled "Confidential." There is no way of finding out more information about this application in the PMRA’s Label Search database because the application number is not a searchable criterion in this database.


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