An email from the Executive Director of the CFIA was received by the ASBPC this morning with their response to Resolution 6-24a, which asks that the CFIA “permit Honeybee shipments from the United States for the purpose of hive repopulation, to combat the depopulation of Canada’s Honey Bee hives;” See below:
“Dear Mrs Knight,
I thank you for contacting the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) with your inquiry. Upon review of the Alberta Agriculture Service Board’s recently-passed resolutions, regarding the first item pertaining to the United States (US) border closure for honeybee package imports due to the presence of Varroa mites resistance to miticides, the CFIA is currently in the process of reassessing risks posed by US honeybee imports and anticipates having this US risk assessment completed by the end of June 2024. At this time, a risk management framework document which explains the expectations for any risk mitigation proposals will be shared with a number of stakeholders as well as the USDA. Any risk mitigation proposals submitted to CFIA will then be reviewed to assess if they may sufficiently reduce the risk posed by the hazards identified. Until this time, no decision regarding the import of US honeybee packages can be made.
With respect to the approval of miticides, this inquiry would be the responsibility of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). Please reach out to PMRA, if you haven’t already.
Please do not hesitate to contact the CFIA regarding any additional inquiries.
Sincerely,
Parthi
Dr. Parthi Muthukumarasamy (he, him, il)
Executive Director, International Programs Directorate
Canadian Food Inspection Agency / Government of Canada
Parthiban.Muthukumarasamy@inspection.gc.ca | 343-550-3542″
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