It's all about the Bees

While I am a  husband, father, Engineer and High School teacher being a bee keeper has probably taught me the most about this amazing world we live in. Why?

Because you cannot really control bees; because every time you approach them the problem you are faced with is just slightly different than the last time; and because they aren't quite human...
While the last point is obvious bee keeping is a subtle type of farming with a wild creature linked to Nature at such a deep level that you, as a bee keeper, become connected with the non human world in a way that few activities allow for.

But this honourable and vital activity is being threatened by a new family of insecticides called neonicotinoids.
Below is a page from the bee keepers of Ontario website to give you the position of the various political parties but here I paraphrase their positions.

Liberal - ensure full and equitable access to non-neonicotinoid treated seed for growers.
Greens - ban neonicotinoid pesticides until scientific evidence can conclusively determine that there is another cause for bee kills.
PC - We share your commitment to Ontario’s future and believe that with more and better jobs. 
NDP - no response

On June 12, vote to save the BEES !

Ontario’s political parties express positions on bee health 

 Milton, ON, May 28, 2014. The Ontario Beekeepers’ Association has surveyed each of the four major parties running in this year’s provincial election for their plan to solve Ontario’s current bee health crisis.

 In 2012 and 2013, over 14,000 hives were lost to bee kills linked to the indiscriminate use of neonicotinoid pesticides by Health Canada. Last year, nearly 99% of the 2.2 million acres of corn in Ontario were treated with neonicotinoids, even though the Ontario Ministry of Food and Agriculture crop specialists indicate that only 10% to 20% of acreage needs pest protection.

 The OBA has released a revised position on neonicotinoids and bee health. The new position calls for a moratorium on the sale of neonicotinoid treated seeds but offers the option for farmers to apply for one-time use if they can a demonstrate, through an approved soil test or monitoring program, a problem that requires neonicotinoid-treated seeds.  This position is consistent with that adopted by the National Farmers Union.

 Two questions were asked via email to the leaders of the Ontario PC, Ontario Liberal, Ontario NDP and Green Party of Ontario:

1)     Ontario's beekeeping industry has suffered through the loss of thousands of hives in both 2012 and 2013 that Health Canada has confirmed were the result of exposure to neonicotinoid pesticides in soy and corn planting. Should you be elected to lead the Government of Ontario, would you support the Ontario Beekeepers' Association's call for an immediate moratorium on the sale of the neonicotinoid treated seeds that are killing our bees?

2)     Ontario is suffering a serious decline in the population of the insect pollinators we rely on for our locally grown foods as the result of the indiscriminate use of neonicotinoid pesticides. Health Canada and other studies have shown significant amounts of persistent neonicotinoid pesticides in water and soil samples across Ontario. If elected, will your party declare this an urgent environmental problem?

As of this writing the OBA has received responses from three parties. Following are excerpts of their position. The complete responses can be found at ontariobee.com/neonics.

From Kathleen Wynne, leader of the Ontario Liberal Party:

1)     “The Ontario Liberals are committed to working with the agricultural and beekeeping sectors to (1) ensure full and equitable access to non-neonicotinoid treated seed for growers, and (2) establish a system that allows for targeted use of neonicotinoids only in production areas or production circumstances where these pesticides are actually shown to be required.”

 2)     “The OBA proposal to hold a targeted forum to develop recommendations and identify a pollinator health roadmap is one that a Liberal government would identify as a priority action to be undertaken within the first six weeks of being elected.”

From Mike Schreiner, leader of the Green Party of Ontario: 

1)     “The Green Party of Ontario proposes a ban on neonicotinoid pesticides until scientific evidence can conclusively determine that there is another cause for bee kills. The Green Party believes the precautionary principle should be applied to threats to our food system.” 

2)     “We firmly believe that the provincial and federal governments should not put our food supply and our local economy at risk by failing to protect insect pollinators.” 

From Tim Hudak, leader of the Progressive Conservative party of Ontario:

“We appreciate the opportunity to listen to your priorities for Ontario. We share your commitment to Ontario’s future and believe that with more and better jobs, we can do what’s necessary to bring about the change Ontario needs.” 

The OBA has yet to hear from the NDP Ontario Party. 
http://www.ontariobee.com/inside-oba/news-and-updates/oba-press-release-ontarios-political-parties-express-positions-on-bee-health

May 9 You are What You Eat; the link between job creation, food, health and Farmers Markets

 Job creation and how each party will help create more jobs seems to be the topic of the day. I will put a slight spin on this theme today by focusing on the link between jobs, agriculture, food and health.

Health is Wealth.

Having been very sick myself and having just had my daughter contract malaria in Asia [she returned home last night !] I can attest to the reality that without health you have nothing.
And the best medicine ? The right food.

Preferably fresh. Preferably local. Organic if possible. And lots of variety. And preferably grown right here in Ontario; the former "garden" for Canada.

Why do I say "former"? Because the USA & Mexico, California in particular, has become our major supplier for fresh fruit and vegetables.


This means:

- fewer jobs in Agriculture
- food that is not as fresh and thus not as healthy
- extra CO2 emissions generated transporting it thousand of km
- odds that extra herbicides and insectides are on your food as more are required in warmer climate and Mexico in particular has loser regulations for their use
- increased risk of health problems as our best preventative medicine is healthy food

But there is a solution: local farmers markets. They are starting up their season soon;
- Metcalfe          http://www.metcalfefm.com/                                 starts May 10 Sat. 8-12
- North Gower   http://northgowerfarmersmarket.wordpress.com/  starts May 31
- Ottawa            http://ottawafarmersmarket.ca/                              started May 4

When you shop at a farmers market you help your community is so many ways;
- you create jobs in Ontario
- you get fresher products
- you have more fun shopping and get to know people in your community
- you are feeding yourself  the best medicine there is - healthy food

Remember, you are what you eat !

May 8: Why the Green Party approach is both left and right and thus the most pragmatic

The Writ has dropped - may the battle begin!

Today  is the beginning of an election which nobody can seem to identify a clear winner who appeals to a large majority of Ontario voters. Too bad.
While Ontario has been lurching along since the 2008 Recession, thanks to massive and unsustainable government spending, our economy has certainly not recovered in any meaningful way. Although there have been some positive moves in the last 10 years, such as the Green Energy Act, even this small bit of light is tarnished. How?  By the way it has angered so many Ontario citizens by the perception that it has been the main driver of increasing electricity prices [it is NOT!] and the complete inability of citizens to challenge the building of wind turbines that they feel may injure their health.
So, somehow the Liberals did the right thing, but in the wrong way, and thus undid much of the good they have done.
But I am not here to put down any other political party - they are all doing the best they can and trying to implement policies that they truly believe in. The only problem is that they are all so stuck in their ideologies and desire for power that their 'solutions' usually cause a bigger head ache that the problem they 'fixed'. [eg. Green energy act]

I, like many voters, truly believe that the Green Party has the BEST approach to sustainable government. This approach is fiscally conservative but socially progressive; it is an approach that is not stuck in silly 'left' or 'right' positions, but is willing to implement ideas that simply work.
For example, Toronto and Ottawa desperately need more and improved public transit, but raising even more income taxes or increasing the provincial debt, given our HUGE debt of more than $200 billion, are not options.
So what option is there?
Give cities the power and authority to debt finance their needed infrastructure.
Honestly, the powers the cities have is a left over from the middle 19th century and we are in, so I am told, the 21st century. Back then most people were farmers. Now 80% of us live in big cities and towns. Clearly this is a hugs shift. But our political system has not shifted accordingly.
So let's smarten up. Toronto has more people and more of an economy than many countries but no significant ability to raise revenues. Let's give them that power to invest in infrastructure that makes the city more productive.
And by the way, perhaps we need the province to stop using debt to finance regular business like hospital, roads and schools but reserve debt to be ONLY for infrastructure investments that make us more productive and will thus increase our GNP...
Is this a left or right wing approach. Both. And neither. We just need to get the job done without saddling our children with our excess but also with a public infrastructure that they will benefit from and thank us for.

May 7: The main parties seem to be a choice between the frying pan or the fire

The day we have all been anxiously waiting for. NOT.
As many elections these days this one has been triggered by a party leader who thinks the polls are in their favour and not because of a principled, people centred response to bad policy.
Mind you, the NDP decision to NOT support the Liberal budget is a good thing, because Ontario's terrible finances were just about to go from bad to worse, so they have done us a favour.
Our challenge as Green Party candidates to have you, the voter, see that you currently have a choice between a frying pan or a fire. Let me clarify.

The fire: the PCs under Hudak are clearly soley focussed on reducing the size of government and in particular the deficit. This is, in and of itself, a good thing. However,  by focussing on policies that seem to be copies of the "right to work" states of the southern USA we risk turning ourselves into a second rate jurisdiction who is racing to the bottom, an approach that will, in the long term, not improve the lives of most Ontarions.
The frying pan: the Liberal and NDP; note that I am lumping them together. Why? Because the Wynn Liberal budget is more of an NDP style budget that even the NDP would have the audicity to cobble together. It is so grandiose and so unrealistic that it can only be seen as a marketing pitch and not as a serious attempt to build a fiscally and socially policy from. While I applaud the focus on serious issues like the recognition for investments in mass transit I cannot see a sustainable approach recommended to fund these needed investments.
That brings me back to the Green Party approach; to invest the Public good, but to do without creating a burden for our children. We must live within our means, yet invest in projects which will make us more productive and more competitive so we do not 'race to the bottom' by an obession with low wage jobs but rather 'race to the top' by working with industry to create the infrastructure for companies that will create high paying jobs for Ontario. Does this sound like a pipe dream? Germany has done it. It works. But it takes the government, industry and educational and training institutions working together to train the right people fo the right jobs with the best infrastructure to compete with the world's best.
That approach is one reason, of many, to vote for the Green Party June 12!