b'SEEDS CANADA / SEEDS-CANADA.CA / PROVINCIAL RESTRICTIONS COULD HAVE WIDE-RANGING EFFECTSWHY YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THENEONIC SITUATION IN QUEBECIN 2015, the Quebec provincial environmentas a value chain, didnt previously in past years ministry published a study showing traces ofdeal with the common-sense approach of limit-certain pesticides were found in Quebec rivers.ing the use of these products to situations where The study furthered fuelled public fear of cropthey are needed, using an approved set of best protection products, which inevitably led to newmanagement practices at the farm level.regulations that put restrictions on the use of anyAssociation des marchands de semences du products containing atrazine, chlorpyrifos, clothi- Qubec (AMSQ) held an informative session in anidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. June for its members with representatives from In Quebec, growers willing to use any prod- the province and OAQ as speakers.ucts containing these active ingredients nowThe purpose of this virtual conference was Annie Bergeron,require a prescription from an agronomist into help decision makers within companies doing CEO, Les Grainsevery situation and for every field. This meansbusiness in Quebec to better understand the Semtech agronomists are now a little like doctors, fillingcurrent regulations and the sensitivity of the in special forms for every grower they prescribegeneral public towards environmental topics these products to. They are liable for all pes- so they can act accordingly. It wouldnt be the ticides they prescribe. For retailers, additionalfirst time where Quebec was the port of entry work also has to be done, as they must docu- in Canada for similar concerns/trends/situations ment all their sales of these products. that first took place in Europe before expanding Despite initial frustrations around this legisla- into Canada.tion, our industry has successfully worked withThe province has committed to maintain-the province to mitigate some of the difficultiesing and monitoring for the presence of active that resulted from the legislation. It began byingredients exceeding threshold levels and taking surveying stakeholders to find out what theylegislative actions to extend agronomic justifi-thought of and how they were coping with thecation and prescription to a greater number of changes. pesticides deemed dangerous. They also intend The seed industry, among other stakeholders,to provide for the mandatory periodic review of was given the opportunity to provide input intothe list of regulated pesticidesmeaning more the regulations at the very last step of the projectproducts could be added. therefore our contribution was rather modest.AMSQ and Seeds Canada are encouraging a A plan has since been developed through a col- nationwide discussion on how to be proactive in laboration between the province and Ordre desgiving agronomists and retailers the tools they agronomes du Qubec (OAQ) to help ensureneed to ensure crop protection products are clarity on what is required from agronomists,deployed appropriately, and to also help educate retailers and growers, and standardize record- the public on why these tools are needed and keeping and make it easier via a framework forhow they can be properly managed to ensure the applying the prescription regulations so theyenvironment is protectedbefore flawed and work for everyone. OAQ created a reference gridrestrictive legislation is forced on them.and guidelines to help the agronomists in theirI am happy to talk about this issue, so please diagnostic processes. email me at any time and I will be pleased to Still, the Quebec seed industry is hamperedprovide an overview and how you can be a part by the restrictions, which add administrative bur- of proactive change in your own province. Im at dens for growers and retailers. Its too bad we,at a.bergeron@lesgrainssemtech.com 38GERMINATION.CA NOVEMBER 2021'