Saskatoon beekeeper petitions for Day of the Honey Bee to be recognized nationally

A Saskatoon beekeeper wants Canada to mark May 29 as Day of the Honey Bee — to recognize the insect’s work in the food system and raise awareness about the threats to bee colonies.

“They are responsible for so many of our food crops, over 70 food crops in Canada alone,” Clinton Ekdahl says.

“[The decline of bees] is a much larger problem than I think most people realize.”

Since 2009, Ekdahl has been writing letters to politicians and pushing for jurisdictions to celebrate Day of the Honey Bee.

The day is already proclaimed by hundreds of cities, towns and provinces — including British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

Now, Ekdahl wants Day of the Honey Bee to be recognized nationally.

With national status, Ekdahl believes more policies can be implemented to protect the bees, such as banning certain pesticides at certain times.

CTV News reached out to the federal government, asking if it would consider marking Day of the Honey Bee.

In a statement, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada said, “At this time there is no such designation at the federal level.”

While the number of bee colonies is dropping in Canada, the ministry says Canada is seeing the highest level of beekeepers since 1990.

https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/canadas-agriculture-sectors/horticulture/horticulture-sector-reports/statistical-overview-canadian-honey-and-bee-industry-2020

To get the Day of the Honey Bee discussed in Ottawa, Ekdahl says either an MP needs to bring up the topic, or there needs to be a petition.

“I only need 500 signatures before it gets presented in the House of Commons,” Ekdahl says.

He has until April 19 to get the 500 signatures.