The Quebec government has introduced new restrictions on the use of pesticides.
Farmers will soon need permission from a certified agronomist in order to use specific pesticides.
“A controlled, rigorous and responsible use of pesticides is the key to limiting the risks they entail,” said Sustainable Development and Environment Minister Isabelle Melancon.
The new regulations are targeting five pesticides, including three that are nicotine-based, known by their shortened name ‘neonics.’
The nicotine-based products have been linked to the decline in honeybee population.
“The product accumulates itself in pollen, in the wax, in the nectar and the bees consume it during winter and you end up finding your hive dead when the springtime comes,” Maggie Lamothe-Boudreau of the Quebec Federation of Beekeepers told CTV Montreal.
Along with the restrictions the province is clamping down on the use of Atrazine.
“It has long been established that once in surface water it can impact the sexual development of frogs, for instance -- transforming male frogs into female frogs basically, changing their organs,” said Louise Henault-Ethier of the David Suzuki Foundation.
The new restrictions will start taking effect next month and continue to gradually phase in until the spring of 2019.
- with files from CTV Montreal