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editionap.ca
East Hawkesbury line depends on market RICHARD MAHONEY RICHARD.MAHONEY@EAP.ON.CA
A worrisome buzz
sensitivities, land use compatibility, eco- nomics, vegetation, archeological and his- torical sites, as well as stakeholder and Ab- original community input.” Open house in September TransCanada will hold a public meeting on its plan September 5, from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Chute-à-Blondeau community centre to discuss the plan. “The project is in its preliminary stage because even the rout- ing is unconfirmed. Nonetheless, TransCan- ada’s experience requires them to engage the public sooner than later,” according to a notice from the company. TransCanada’s Energy East project would move between 500,000 and 850,000 bar- rels of crude oil a day from Alberta and Sas- katchewan to Eastern Canadian refineries. It would use 3,000 kilometres of existing pipelines for most of the proposed route. Construction of 1,400 kilometres of new pipelines would fill in gaps between the existing pipeline systems in Alberta, Sas- katchewan and Eastern Ontario. Subject to the approval of the National Energy Board, the new route would be ready for shipping crude oil by late 2017 to Québec refineries and by 2018 to refineries in New Brunswick. Many area residents have already ex- pressed concerns about the existing En- bridge line that is located immediately east of the Ontario-Québec border, east of Con- cession 7 in East Hawkesbury. Les Citoyens AuCourant, a group of citizens from the Rigaud area, has been working to inform the public about a plan to bring vast quantities of oil from the Alberta tar sands through their municipalities. Information sessions have been held on the proposal to reverse the flow in the Enbridge 9B pipeline.
Another close, muggy day, and you can almost hear the corn and soybeans grow- ing. You can also sense that a storm is brew- ing over the latest attempt to pinpoint the cause of honey bee colony collapse, an issue that, without being overdramatic, could affect the global food supply. The insecticide used in corn and soybean production may be killing bees. Without bees, there is no pollination, which means that about 70 per cent of the world’s food supply would disappear. But without pesticides, crop yields would drop, and the price of our food will sky- rocket. The Canadian bee population has decreased by about 35 per cent in the past three years. Such disturbing figures have prompted the Ontario government to form a working group that will recommend measures to reduce the impact the pesti- cide neonicotinoid has on honey bees. A link between the application of insec- ticides and high bee mortality rates was established by Health Canada’s Pest Man- agement Regulatory Agency. Last year, the PMRA looked into honey bee mortality reports from Ontario, Qué- bec, Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia. “The information evaluated suggests that planting of corn seeds treat- ed with the nitro guanidine insecticides clothianidin and/or thiamethoxam contrib- uted to the majority of the bee mortalities that occurred in corn growing regions of Ontario and Quebec in spring 2012. The likely route of exposure was insecticide contaminated dust generated during the planting of treated corn seed. The unusual weather conditions in the spring of 2012 were likely also a contributing factor,” reads the report. A portion of the mortalities was deter- mined to be associated with spray drift, however, an unusually high number of reports of honey bee mortalities was re- ceived from beekeepers in corn-growing regions of Ontario and Québec. Weather conditions in the areas where beekeepers were affected were unusual in spring 2012. It was warmer and drier than
normal, corn planting began two to three weeks ahead of schedule, at the same time bees were foraging. The PMRA relates that measures have been implemented to re- duce honey bee exposure to dust gener- ated during planting of treated corn seed. These steps include labelling of treated seed, a treated seed dust standard, and de- velopment of technical solutions to reduce dust. “Additionally, the nitro-guanidine neonicotinoids have been placed under re-evaluation and further regulatory action will be taken if required,” the agency says. The products have been banned by the European Union, which has imposed a con- tinent-wide two-year moratorium on neo- nicotinoids. But so far, nothing has been done to ban the use of neonicotinoids in Canada, much to the chagrin of environ- mental groups and the Ontario Beekeepers’ Association. Insecticides join the long list of possible bee colony collapse causes. Some of the possible culprits are cell phones, ge- netically modified crops, pollution, radia- tion, a parasite, or a combination of some or all of these factors. In many people’s minds, insecticides are the number 1 en- emy of pollinators. A ban on all chemicals is a logical step, for the long-term interests of our planet, and the interests of food producers. Better alternatives to neonic- otinoids are available; environmentally- friendly treatments would create more healthy pollinators. On the other side of the fence, the chemical industry cautions that new restrictions will encourage a return to older, more dangerous insecticides and result in crop losses, lower revenues and higher food costs. And then there is the group that contends that any government control is too much government control. Anyway, the Ontario government’s group will consist of scientists, beekeepers, farm- ers, people in agri-business and federal and provincial representatives. The goal is have recommendations in front of the government by next spring. As the debate over chemicals and colonies warms up, it is refreshing to consider that a little bee can create such a buzz.
ST-EUGÈNE | No buyers, no new crude oil pipeline in East Hawkesbury. That is the situation as TransCanada Corporation continues to do ground work for a proposed new national pipe- line that would run through Eastern On- tario. “Very preliminary” is how East Hawkes- bury chief administrative officer Linda Rozon describes the proposal. Township representatives recently met with Trans- Canada, an Alberta-based energy com- pany that has indicated East Hawkesbury may be along the route for a proposed 4,400-kilometre pipeline to move crude oil from Alberta and Saskatchewan to Eastern Canada. Landowners have been approached to sign agreements enabling the company to conduct soil tests along the proposed route, which would follow the path of the existing Enbridge line. The idea has raised concerns among some residents. But the plan will be shelved if the cor- poration cannot seal deals with refiner- ies. The company is holding a “binding open season”to get “firm long-term com- mitments from interested parties for the pipeline.” The corporation recently said in an e- mail to the Tribune-Express, “The exact route of the pipeline has yet to be de- termined and will be subject to market demand. In determining a final route for the proposed project, we will continue to consider a number of factors including safety, constructability, environmental
The Enbridge line runs just east of Concession 7 in East Hawkesbury.
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Bertrand Castonguay , President, bertrand@eap.on.ca Roger Duplantie , D.G. / G.M., roger@eap.on.ca François Bélair , Sales & Development, fbelair@eap.on.ca François Legault , Directeur de l’information/News Editor, francois.legault@eap.on.ca Yvan Joly , Sales director (Hawkesbury), yvan@eap.on.ca François Leblanc , Directeur (Lachute), francois.leblanc@eap.on.ca Gilles Normand , Production & Distribution Mgr., gilles.normand@eap.on.ca Julien Boisvenue , Layout & Prepress Mgr., julien.boisvenue@eap.on.ca
Photo Richard Mahoney
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Cat by-law scratched Roaming cats in Champlain Township may be a problem but it is not an issue the municipality is about to tackle. The suggestion of imposing new restrictions on fe- lines was raised by Mayor Gary Barton at a recent council meeting. Members briefly discussed the idea of introducing a tag system, similar to the one that exists for dogs. Citizens complain about loose cats and people who feed strays. However, as Barton observed, council members are not keen on implementing stricter cat curbs.
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