OTTAWA - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says there's no scientific evidence to suggest Canada should ban imports of honey bees from outside North America.

The CFIA says it's closely monitoring the tropilaelaps mite, a parasite that has been found in a number of countries across Asia but not in Australia, New Zealand, Italy or Chile.

The agency was responding to a call from the head of the Alberta Beekeepers Commission, who said earlier this week that Canada should stop all imports to keep the pests out.

Canada currently imports worker bees from only four places and the CFIA says exporting countries must certify they're free of the mite.

It says it will reassess those rules if things change, as it did in 2024 when it determined it couldn't be sure that Ukraine was completely mite-f

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