January 8, 2025, Ottawa
On November 29, 2024, in the Provincial Court of British Columbia, MPY Trading Ltd. pled guilty to two counts of contravening the Safe Food for Canadians Act (the "SFCA") and its regulations (the "SFCR"). On December 9, 2024, the court imposed fines against MPY Trading Ltd. totalling $1,155,685.
On the offence of contravening section 6(1) of the SFCA by exporting crabs to China in a misleading manner, the court imposed a fine of $1,105,685. For the period from December 2019 to January 2020, MPY Trading Ltd. falsely described the crabs in export certificates to China as being the product of Canada. The crabs had been imported from the U.S. to Canada, and then exported by MPY Trading Ltd. to China.
On the offence of contravening section 90(1) of SFCR, the court imposed a fine of $50,000. This was the offence of MPY Trading Ltd. failing to keep adequate records of the source of the crabs it exported to China.
The Crown stayed the remaining charges against MPY Trading Ltd. and stayed all the charges against Ocean Run Seafood Canada Ltd. and Man-On Yeung.
In December, 2023, MPY Trading Ltd. surrendered its Safe Food for Canadians licence and is no longer operating.
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is responsible for the administration and enforcement of federal legislation, including the Safe Food for Canadians Act and regulations. The CFIA is dedicated to safeguarding food, animal, and plant health, which enhance the health and well-being of Canada's people, environment, and economy.