Ottawa-Since the Senate moved to their new digs on Rideau street in downtown Ottawa, they are not the only ones to taking up residence at the old train station. In a project started by Carleton University, over 100,000 pollinating bees have the new Senate Chamber as their new home.
There are three instigators of this project for urban bee hives in Parliament; the Senate, the Chateau Laurier & Carleton University. There is also a local producer helping to manage the hives. There are currently 13 beehives representing every territory and province. The 100,000 workers produce honey for the Fairmount Chateau Laurier restaurants. It is not known which hive is most productive. This information is Beeing kept secret.
This is the 1st federally owned building in Ottawa with bee & honey production. The decision to have bees was made in 2016 by the Public Service & Procurement Canada.
This un-BEE-lieavibly program stems from a 2013 Senate Agricultural report on “The Importance of Bee Health to Sustainable Food Production in Canada.” The report highlights declining bee populations and suggests actions the government can take in Canada to improve the situation.
In 2009, Michelle Obama had beehives installed at the White House. President Trump did not remove the beehives in 2016, but instead added more at the Vice-President’s Pence’s home. The White House now has 35,000 bees.
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