WHEREAS local honey bee populations on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands are in danger of contracting diseases and pests from mainland North America that significantly affect the health of honey bees, and which are not currently present on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands; AND WHEREAS the Province recently lifted a 22 year long quarantine that prohibited the importation of honey bees from mainland North America to Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM petition the Province to protect the health of island bee populations by restoring the former quarantine that has managed the importation of honey bees and prohibited the importation of used equipment and combs to Canada Food Inspection Agency standards from mainland North America to Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and the Gulf Islands.
Ministry of Agriculture The Ministry of Agriculture established that there was no longer a qualitative difference in the honey bee disease profiles of the Vancouver Island Bee District and mainland bee districts. In the absence of scientific justification, the application of restrictive honey bee shipping conditions to Vancouver Island that exceeded those used in other bee districts, and between provinces for bee imports, was deemed legally non-defensible by the Ministry of the Attorney General. In May 2010, the Ministry of Agriculture introduced a set of shipping conditions applicable to all Bee Districts which include colony inspection by ministry-appointed Apiary Inspectors prior to shipment, permit issuance and mandatory registration of apiaries. Colony inspections meet or exceed standards accepted by other provinces. The Ministry of Agriculture believes that the new shipping conditions allow beekeepers to realize economic opportunity while maintaining an effective program to prevent the introduction of new bee diseases in all parts of the province and mitigate their impact.