Sometimes, it takes just one voice to change the future.

Last year, that voice was you.

 

In in just three months in 2018, more than 100,000 Canadians made their voices heard by signing our Ban With A Plan petition urging the government to ban the use of Neonicotinoid pesticides (neonics). By November, the Federal government announced that certain Neonics would be phased out. That’s the power of the butterfly effect.

This year, we need you once again! Our voices are louder together! Will you help us recover our pollinators?

You can help change the future.

Sign up to bee alerted when the movement starts.

    icon-honeybee  icon-butterfly  icon-moth  icon-bumblebee icon-swallow icon-bat

    Ban With A Plan

    Neonics are pesticides that are hurting our pollinators, aquatic insects and impacting wildlife. Pollinators are essential for our food supply, our ecosystems and our enjoyment of nature.
    Petition Results
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    How Neonics Spread

    Recent Developments

    An assessment of the direct and indirect risks of Neonics to bats has been released for professionals. A version for the public will be coming soon.


    Read Professional Report
    “Banning neonicotinoids is an imperative first step if we are to avoid long-lasting serious impacts on the very ecosystems that support farming in Canada. Next, we will need to work to recover species affected by these toxic chemicals and provide Canadian farmers with alternative pest control methods if we are to achieve sustainable agriculture.”
    Carolyn Callaghan, Senior Conservation Science Biologist | Canadian Wildlife Federation

    Five-Step Plan

    In a recent open letter to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Canadian Wildlife Federation along with 15 non-profit environmental and human health organizations signed their support to urge our government to take immediate action to end the use of neonicotinoid insecticides in Canada in response to recent international developments and significant evidence of serious harm.

    In addition, one of CWF’s scientists joined over 200 scientists in an open letter published in the journal Science to urge for immediate action from governments around world to create national and international agreements to greatly restrict the use of neonics.

    We’ve developed a five-step plan to not just ban neonics, but also work with farmers and policy-makers and help the environment recover from the devastating effects of these pesticides.

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    Ban the use of neonics

    The Canadian Wildlife Federation calls for a legislated, national ban on the use of all forms of neonicotinoid pesticides in agriculture, horticulture, turf production and golf courses. Under the ban, emergency use of neonics would be permitted for a limited number of years, but only under cases of severe pest outbreak and with a prescription from a certified agronomist.
    N

    Recover Affected Species

    Recover species impacted by neonics, including wild bees, hoverflies, other insect pollinators, aquatic insects, and species experiencing the indirect effects of neonics due to reduced food availability, such as birds, bats and fish.
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    Encourage Research and Development on Safer Pest Control Technologies

    Support the development of pest-specific chemicals (or biological agents) with limited environmental effects – to encourage the development of longer term, directed products.
    N

    Give Farmers Alternatives

    We are encouraging banning the use of neonicotinoids (neonics), but a major component of this is a plan that helps support farmers in transitioning to alternatives to neonics while ensuring crop yields and quality. These supports include: extending the patent period for less harmful and/or better targeted insecticides so these products are more widely available; encouraging government programs to support integrated pest management and alternatives to neonicotinoids; improving agricultural extension on insect management; improving insurance programs to cover potential losses. More elements of the Plan are working with government, industry and others to better understand effects on non-target species, to improve academic and public scrutiny of studies by pesticide manufacturers, and establishment of an oversight committee without ties to industry.
    N

    Reform How the Government Protects Our Food Supply

    Improve risk assessment methods for pesticides, including oversight and greater transparency in how pesticides are licensed and regulated, to ensure the seriously harmful pesticides are not licensed by the Canadian government.  End the licensing of systemic pesticides.
    “For years now, neonicotinoid (neonic) pesticides have been poisoning our pollinators (bees, hoverflies, butterflies, moths, and beetles) and aquatic insects. Pollinators are essential to our food supply, ecosystems and enjoyment of nature. There are hundreds of scientific studies that have demonstrated the serious harm of neonics to pollinators. When I was a child, DDT was a serious threat to our wildlife and I am concerned that history is repeating itself.”
    David Browne PhD, Director of Conservation Science | Canadian Wildlife Federation

    By The Numbers

    %

    “of the insecticide doesn’t go into the plant, but goes elsewhere in the environment.” – David Goulson, University of Sussex, Brighton, England

    insects are pollinators, such as flies, beetles, wasps, ants, butterflies, moths and bees – Canadian Species At Risk Registry

    %

    of Earth’s flowering plants rely on pollination by bees and other pollinators

    What Can You Do?

    Don’t use pesticides with neonics around your home and garden

    Buy garden plants from stores that source neonic free plants.
    Here are some examples

    Grow pollinator-friendly plants

    To help support declining pollinator numbers, grow a variety of native flowers in your garden. Having a garden with flowers all season long is an excellent way to support our pollinators.
    Here are some examples