Niagara beekeepers begging the province for support to stay in business

Entire honey bee hives are being wiped out, and commercial beekeepers in Niagara are struggling to stay in business.

George Scott is the President of Niagara Beeway in Port Colborne and he says something is killing his honey bees.

“What we think it is, is the introduction of some new common practices in agriculture and they involve not just insecticides, but also fungicides,” Scott said.

Of the 50 robust honey bee hives that Scott had on his property in the fall all of them died over the winter.

Scott estimates he has lost millions of bees and he says other beekeepers are in the same situation.

Scott says the responsibility falls onto the Agriculture Minister, Lisa Thompson, “we’ve told them, we begged them, we’ve asked them, and now we believe only her resignation from that post will get us any mileage,” Scott said.

The Agriculture Minister’s office told CHCH News that the government is working to support Ontario beekeepers and pollinators through a number of programs, including a targeted program to support and strengthen the health of honeybees.

The Ontario and federal governments recently approved an increase to this program, bringing the total to $1.8 million.

George Scott says what he really needs is approval to bring new bees in from the U.S. to replenish his hives but he says government officials are stalling.