Emerald Ash Borer - Background

The emerald ash borer was first discovered in Windsor, Ontario and Detroit, Michigan in 2002. It is believed that this beetle was introduced to North America from eastern Asia in wood packaging material in the early 1990s. It went undetected until its population built up to damaging levels.

Scientists in Canada and the United States have concluded that the emerald ash borer cannot be eradicated. In light of this, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) adopted a "slow-the-spread" management strategy in 2006 and continues to do the following activities across Canada: surveillance, regulation, enforcement, and communications.

To help limit the spread of the emerald ash borer, a ministerial order has been enacted to regulate areas infested by the pest. This will help to restrict the movement of ash tree articles and firewood. When people move these articles, this contributes to the spread of the beetle.

The regulated areas for the emerald ash borer under ministerial order in 2011 are as follows.

Ontario

• the cities of Hamilton and Toronto, the regional municipalities of Chatham-Kent, Durham, York, Peel, Halton, Niagara and Waterloo, the counties of Brant (including the City of Brantford), Elgin, Essex, Haldimand, Huron, Lambton, Middlesex, Norfolk, Oxford, Perth and Wellington
• the city of Sault Ste. Marie

Ontario-Quebec

• the city of Ottawa, the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville in Ontario and the City of Gatineau, Quebec

Quebec

• the municipalities of Carignan, Chambly, Richelieu, Saint-Basile-le-Grand and Saint-Mathias-sur-Richelieu

Specifically, ministerial orders prohibit people from moving the following articles outside of an infested area:

• ash nursery stock,
• ash trees,
• ash logs and ash branches,
• rough ash lumber,
• wood packaging materials with an ash component as a stand-alone commodity,
• ash bark,
• ash wood chips or bark chips, and
• firewood from all tree species that has not been treated to eliminate the emerald ash borer.

Movement restrictions for the emerald ash borer also apply to vehicles if they are used to transport regulated articles.

Additional information on the emerald ash borer and ministerial orders for the emerald ash borer in Canada are available on the CFIA web site at www.inspection.gc.ca/pests.