Reducing Risks to Native Pollinators by Introduced Bees: A Review of Canada’s Legislation with Recommendations for Yukon Territory

Imported, non-native honey bees and bumble bees threaten native pollinators by spreading pathogens (disease and parasites) and outcompeting native pollinators for nectar and pollen. We reviewed Canadian federal, provincial/territorial, and municipal legislation to find governance requirements that potentially reduce these threats. We classified the requirements as follows: tracking the number and location of honey bee hives (registry); controlling the spread of pathogens (registry with inspections, quarantines, and cleaning regimes); controlling the competition with native pollinators (limiting shared use of space); and making regulations applicable to all domesticated bees in addition to honey bees. Policies and regulations to control the competition from honey bees are generally lacking. So, we propose the concept of “foraging leases” to manage the location and duration of honey bee apiaries on public lands. Based on the identified requirements, we recommend amendments to the legislation in Yukon Territory, a jurisdiction that still has healthy native pollinator communities that pollinate various human food and medicine crops. Recommendations include tracking hives and their pathogen status with beekeeping regulations enabled by the Animal Health Act, controlling the use of imported bumble bees with changes to the Animal Protection and Control Act and/or the Wildlife Act, and restricting use of public lands for apiaries with the Public Lands Act.