Briefing Package for CFIA Deputy Head, 2019

February 2019

On this page

• Welcome Letter
• Overview of
  • The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
  • Agency Branches and Organizational Structure
  • CFIA's Governance Structure
• Roles and Responsibilities
• CFIA Priorities
  • Framework: Responding to Today, Building for the Future
  • 2018 Progress Report: Responding to Today, Building for the Future
• Key Government Priorities related to the CFIA
  • Agri-Food Economic Strategy Table (Agri-Food EST)
  • Federal Regulatory Review of Agri-Food and Aquaculture
  • 2018 Fall Economic Statement (FES)
  • Regulatory Priorities
• Overview of the Financial Situation
  • Financial Situation
  • Departmental Results Framework
  • Management Accountability Framework: 2017-18 Departmental Report
• Overview of Human Resource Management
  • CFIA as a Separate Agency
  • Overview of CFIA Employees
  • CFIA Demographic Picture
  • Inspection Capacity
• Key Partners and Committees
  • Committees
  • All Chairs Value Chain Roundtable (VCRT)
  • Federal-Provincial-Territorial Relations (FPT)
  • Key Industry Stakeholders
• Key Files
  • Food Safety
  • Animal Health
  • Plant Health
  • International Affairs

Welcome Letter

February 27, 2019

Dear Dr. Mithani,

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you as President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA). As a science-based regulator, the CFIA has a broad mandate that encompasses food safety, animal health, plant health and international market access. I look forward to your leadership and support to advance the Agency's priority files to deliver on the commitments outlined by the Government on behalf of all Canadians.

Over my past year at the Agency, I have had the opportunity to work with the senior management team on a strategic plan that guides our work so that we are well positioned to manage emerging risks, respond to consumer demands and support industry as they compete in the global market. Responding to Today, Building for the Future is one of the key documents in the briefing package that we have put together for your information, along information related to our people, operating environment and key files.

Over the coming days, the senior management team will be available to provide more comprehensive briefings to ensure a smooth transition. Please know that you can count on me to support you every day in your role as President.

Again, welcome!

France Pégeot
Executive Vice President
Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Overview of

• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
• Agency Branches and Organizational Structure
• CFIA's Governance Structure

Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)

Legislative mandate

• Develop and deliver inspection and other services to:
  • Protect plant resources from pests, diseases and invasive species;
  • Prevent and manage animal diseases, including diseases that threaten human health (e.g. avian influenza);
  • Prevent and manage food safety risks (e.g. inspection, food recalls);
  • Contribute to consumer protection (e.g. labelling claims); and
  • Facilitate market access for Canada's food, plants and animals.

The CFIA reports to two ministers

President of the CFIA

• Supervises direction of CFIA and its staff
• Sets out the strategic direction and confirms delivery of CFIA programs and services

Minister of Health

• Overall control of CFIA (operating budget, reports to Parliament)
• Food safety
• Delegations (shared)

Minister of Agriculture & Agri-Food

• Plant Health
• Animal Health
• Food labelling & claims (non-food safety)
• Market access
• Delegations (shared)

Core responsibilities

Plant health, animal health, food safety, international trade

• A regulator - To set rules and verify compliance with the rules
• A risk manager - To safeguard diverse public risks related to public health, economics and environment
• A facilitator - To improve the regulatory interface with industry and trading partners

Plant health

Protect Canada's plant resource base

• Crops, horticulture, nurseries, forest resources and products, greenhouses, seeds, fertilizers, plants with novel traits, invasive alien species

Protects Canada's plant resource base, environment and plant-related industries by:

• Preventing the introduction and spread of pests that could damage Canadian production and the income of Canadian producers;
• Verifying farmers have access to safe and effective agricultural inputs (e.g., seed, fertilizer) that support environmental sustainability;
• Fostering innovation through protection of intellectual property (i.e., plant breeders' rights); and
• Maintaining the reputation of Canadian agricultural products in the global marketplace as being high-quality, pest free and safe.

Animal health

Protect Canada's animal resource base and Canadians from diseases

• Includes livestock, poultry, animal feeds, and fish and seafood

Minimizes risks to Canada's terrestrial and aquatic animal resource base, and ensures the safety of animal feeds, products and vaccines by:

• Protecting Canada's animals, including aquatic animals, from diseases;
• Managing animal disease incidents and emergencies (e.g. avian influenza);
• Promoting and regulating animal welfare, in transportation and in slaughter; and
• Verifying that animal feeds and vaccines are safe and effective.

Food safety

Contribute to safeguarding Canada's food supply

• Includes health and safety, nutrition, labelling

Develops and delivers programs and services to:

• Protect Canadians from preventable food safety hazards;
• Effectively manage food safety investigations and recalls; and
• Protect consumers and the marketplace from unfair practices.

Contributes to consumer protection

• Verifies information provided to Canadian consumers through labels and that advertising is truthful and not misleading.

International trade

Facilitate market access for Canada's plants, animals and food

• Influence the development of international rules and standards for plant protection, animal health and food safety through international standard-setting bodies
  • International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC)
  • World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH; founded as Office International des Épizooties (OIE))
  • Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX) (Food)
• Negotiate import / export conditions and technical agreements and standards
• Engage trading partners
• Facilitate market access, in collaboration with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Global Affairs Canada

The CFIA's strategic plan: Responding to Today, Building for the Future

Planned spending

Resources: 5,944 Full time equivalents and planned spending of $699.1M in 2018-19

CFIA's regional presence

Approximately 5,944 full-time equivalents are employed across the country:

• Headquarters in NCR
• Four operational areas - Western, Ontario, Quebec, Atlantic
• 17 regional offices
• 132 field offices
• 702 federally registered meat establishments (e.g. processing plants)
• 13 laboratories : Atlantic (2), Quebec, (2), Ontario (3), Western (6)

CFIA's partners

International Partners

• Set import requirements, verify export requirements
• Comparability and acceptance of relevant systems (e.g. inspection)
• Develop international science-based rules, standards, etc.

Provincial, Territorial and Municipal Governments

• Enforce jurisdictional food safety, plant and animal health requirements
• Collaborate in responding to food safety incidents
• Prevent and manage plant and animal health emergencies

Federal Departments and Agencies

• Health Portfolio
• Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Portfolio
• Global Affairs Canada
• Canada Border Services Agency
• Fisheries and Oceans Canada
• Environment and Climate Change Canada
• Natural Resources Canada
• Shared Services Canada
• Innovation, Science and Economic Development

Industry

• Production of safe food
• Comply with regulatory requirements
• Develop and implement best management practices

Consumers

• Safe food handling and preparation
• Awareness of plant and animal risks (e.g. transporting infested firewood)

Agency Branches and Organizational Structure

Minister of Health/ Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food

Senior Executive

Siddika Mithani, President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

France Pégeot, Executive Vice-President, Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Delivery of CFIA mandate

Jaspinder Komal, Vice-President, Science Branch

Colleen Barnes A/Vice-President, Policy and Programs

• Provides strategic policy advice and sets out program policies and procedures.

Theresa Iuliano, Vice-President, Operations Branch

• Delivers inspection programs and takes compliance and enforcement action

Fred Gorrell, Assistant Deputy Minister, International Affairs Branch

• Leads on market access and international regulatory trade issues.

Nicole Bouchard-Steeves, Associate Vice-President, Operations

• Delivers inspection programs and takes compliance and enforcement action.

Amanda Jane (AJ) Preece, Vice-President, Innovation, Business and Service Development and Chief Information Officer

• Delivers on major projects and priority change initiatives and enables information and information technology.

Corporate Services

Darlène de Gravina, Vice-President, Human Resources

• Enables talent identification, acquisition and mobilization.

Amanda Jane (AJ) Preece, Vice-President, Innovation, Business and Service Development and Chief Information Officer

• Delivers on major projects and priority change initiatives and enables information and information technology.

Dominique Osterrath, Vice-President, Corporate Management and Chief Financial Officer

• Provides oversight of financial management and assets and security management.

Jonathan Massey-Smith, A/Vice-President, Communications and Public Affairs

• Delivers internal and external communication services.

Joanne Butler, Chief Audit Executive and Head of Evaluation, Audit & Evaluation

• Leads internal audit and evaluation.

Carole Bidal, Executive Director and Senior General Counsel, Legal Services

• Provides legal services to the CFIA and AAFC.
• Shared services with AAFC

Integrity and Redress Secretariat

Merril Bawden, Chief Redress Officer, Integrity and Redress Secretariat

• Serves as the focal point for integrity and redress, including the Complaints and Appeals Office.

Policy and programs branch overview

• Frames, coordinates and advances major horizontal and strategic policy initiatives to support the Agency and Government of Canada priorities.
• Develops program policies and procedures related to plant health, animal health and food safety to inform inspection program design and related functional direction and oversight.
• Provides advice and analysis, including with respect to, legislation, regulations, and guidelines.
• Enforces Canada's consumer protection to verify that the information provided to consumers is truthful and not misleading, enabling them to make healthy food choices.
• Provides effective and strategic management of stakeholder engagement, as well as bilateral and multilateral relationships with provinces and territories.
• Provides functional direction, advice and centralized services related to parliamentary and cabinet affairs, ministerial correspondence, and senior executive outreach and events.

Policy & programs branch organizational chart

• Colleen Barnes (Acting), Vice President, Policy and Programs
  • David R. Bailey (Acting), Dawn Lumley-Myllari (interchange out), Executive Director, Program Regulatory and Trade Policy
  • Michelle Illing (Acting), Chief Veterinary Officer and Executive Director, Animal Health
  • William Anderson, Executive Director, Plant Health and Biosecurity
  • Lyzette Lamondin, Executive Director, Domestic Food Safety Systems and Meat Hygiene
  • Dena Kingston, Director, Branch Administration Services
  • Linda Webster, Michael Wood (Acting), Director, Strategic Partnerships
  • Douglas Hedley [Redacted text], Special Advisor - BSE Class Action
  • Rupa Bhawal-Montmorency (Interchange out), Senior Director, Guidance Document Renewal
• Colleen Barnes, Associate Vice-President, Policy and Programs
  • Barbara Doan, Director, Horizontal Integration

Operations branch overview

• Is the largest branch of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), representing more than 60% of the Agency's employees. The branch is organized according to national functions and four Areas (Atlantic, Quebec, Ontario and the West) with field offices from coast to coast.
• The branch's primary function is the delivery of inspection and enforcement activities related to the CFIA's mandate to safeguard Canada's food, plants and animals.
• The branch coordinates food recalls when an unsafe food product must be removed from the marketplace.
• Branch employees also provide regulatory permissions (registrations, licences, permits, export certificates, etc.) related to the Acts and Regulations enforced by the CFIA and for those required for Canadian businesses to access foreign markets.
• This work is supported by staff who provide control and risk management, quality management, issues management, business planning and management, operational policy and systems, and advice and guidance to the field.

Operations branch organizational chart

• Theresa Iuliano, Vice-President, Operations
  • Richard Arsenault, Inspector General
  • Scott Rattray (Acting), Executive Director, Inspection Support
  • Vacant, Executive Directors, Business and Resource Management Office
  • Paul Thébeau, Area Director, General Quebec
  • James D. Crawford, Area Director, General Ontario
  • Emily O'Reilly, Area Director, General Atlantic
  • Kelvin Mathuik, Area Director, West
• Nicole Bouchard-Steeves, Associate Vice-President, Operations

International affairs and market access overview

• Partnered with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and reports to both Deputy Heads.
• New structure will maximize the use of both organization's resources and better support the government's goal of increasing agri-food and seafood exports to $75 billion by 2025.
• Facilitates market access and influences the development of international trade rules and standards for plant protection, animal health and food safety.
• Negotiates and implements free trade agreements (FTAs).
• Leverages Canada's strong regulatory regime and positive international reputation to grow access to new markets.
• Leads international stakeholder engagement, including incoming and outgoing missions and regulatory co-operation.

International affairs and market access organizational chart

• Fred Gorrell (Interchange), Vice-President, International Affairs
  • Mark Burgham, Special Advisor
  • Daniel Miller, Executive Director, International Programs

Innovation, business and service development branch overview

• Created in June 2017 to drive continuous improvement in all CFIA activities by harnessing innovation, integration and risk to strengthen business processes and increase capacity to safeguard food, animal and plant health.
• The lens of the client experience will focus on future digital development, and blend information with ease of access. This branch will design and develop tiered service, leveraging operations and guidance to ensure accuracy and prioritizations relevant to business.
• An innovation hub (i-Zone) provides a focal point for ideas submission for agency-wide development of both large and smaller undertakings.
• Business and risk intelligence will act as a focal point for decision-making and inform inspections and service functions. 
• Information Technology and Information Management functions were recently added to the branch following a shared model with AAFC for a number of years (Vice-President is both Chief Information and Innovation Officer). CFIA will continue to have a shared help desk with AAFC, but the number of IT-enabled projects and their complexity drove the decision for the Agency to assume sole responsibility.

Innovation, business and service development branch organizational chart

• Amanda-Jane Preece, Vice-President, Innovation, Business Services and Development
  • Denis Mulhall [Redacted text], Director, Agency Trans. Tech Planning
  • Alyssa Daku [Redacted text], Director, Information Risk Management
  • Luc Lafrance [Redacted text], Executive Director, Innovation, Analytics and Digital Solutions
  • Bruce Beanlands (Acting), Connie Abbot, Executive Director, Strategic Planning and Management
  • Vacant, Senior Director, Business and Service Development
  • Joanna Grenon (Acting), Executive Director, Information Management and Information Technology Operations
  • Connie Abbott (assignment), Executive Director, Innovation and Engagement

Science branch overview

• Operates a network of 13 laboratories across Canada supporting food safety, animal health and plant health.
• Provides scientific advice and risk assessments that support risk management decisions, policy development, program design and sound regulatory decisions related to food safety, animal health and plant health.
• Conducts research and method development related to the CFIA's regulatory mandate, including a number of federally funded research collaborations, for example:
  • Develops more rapid detection tests to find foodborne pathogens like Listeria;
  • Performs diagnostic and testing services;
  • Plant health (e.g., testing for plant pests like potato cyst nematode);
  • Animal health (e.g., testing for animal diseases like BSE, rabies in Canada); and
  • Food safety (e.g., to detect allergens, toxins, pesticides, veterinary drug residues and chemical contaminants in foods).
• Develops surveys and surveillance programs to detect, monitor, and confirm presence or absence of known and emerging threats to food system, animal health and plant health (e.g., pests, diseases, animal pathogens and chemical contaminants).
• Engages and collaborates with academia, federal and provincial departments and various agencies, nationally and internationally, to enrich the CFIA's science and innovation.

Science branch organizational chart

• Jaspinder Komal, Vice-President, Science
  • Primal Silva, Chief Science Operating Officer
  • Hans Yu, Executive Director, Strategic Business and Partnership
  • Aline Dimitri, Executive Director, Food Safety Science
  • Christiane Villemure, Executive Director, Food Safety Information Network
  • Pierre Bilodeau, Executive Director, Plant Health Science
  • *Bashir Manji, Project Leader, International Science Coordinator
  • Ian Alexander, Executive Director, Animal Health Science

Corporate management branch overview

• CMB provides strategic advice, functional direction and delivers professional services in financial and asset management, corporate planning and reporting, security and procurement, ensuring stewardship for the Agency. Lead Agency planning and reporting and performance measurement.
• Develops, manages and delivers a broad spectrum of policies, solutions, systems, processes, services and strategic advice for its functional authority areas.
• Fulfills the responsibilities of the Chief Financial Officer, Chief Performance Officer and Agency Security Officer.
• Manages the Agency's planning, reporting and control frameworks, and compliance with legislation and policy instruments for its functional authority areas.
• Promotes an organizational culture of partnership in sound stewardship of public resources and assets, including security awareness.
• Acts as the Agency's primary contact point with the Office of the Comptroller General of Canada and the Treasury Board Secretariat on all planning, reporting and resource management matters, and maintains key linkages and relationships federal partners.
• Supports the Agency with leadership, sound stewardship, and enabling services for management, and internal and external clients, in broad corporate areas including corporate planning and reporting, budgeting and resource allocation, financial management, performance management, investment and project management, asset management, facilities and real property management, environmental management, security, procurement and contracting, financial systems and accounting operations, and internal control.

Corporate management branch organizational chart

• Dominique Osterrath, Chief Financial Officer and Vice-President, Corporate Management
  • Stanley Xu (Acting), Deputy Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director, Financial Services
  • Nancy Fahey, Executive Director, Assets and Security Management
  • Jim Butcher, Executive Director, Horizontal Enterprise Management and Integration
  • Nadine Brannen (assignment), Executive Director, Strategic Projects- FSTII and Sidney

Human resources branch overview

• Develops programs, policies and procedures related to the human resources activities of the CFIA and provides advice and analysis related to their compliance, as well as to relevant legislation.
• Develops programs, policies and procedures related to a healthy, respectful and values-based workplace and that enable a high performing workforce through strong people management.
• Delivers core HR services to executives, managers and employees and internal HR clients at both the corporate and operational level in staffing, recruitment, classification, organizational design, pay services, labour relations, and HR systems, to ensure the Agency has the workforce it requires to deliver on our mandate and priorities.
• Provides effective and strategic advice and support to the management of the Agency's workforce to support major horizontal priorities and change initiatives.
• Develops science-based learning and non-technical professional development, online training (e-learning) to ensure Agency employees and managers are equipped to meet our mandate.

Human resources branch organizational chart

• Darlène De Gravina - Vice-President, Human Resources
  • Mary Gardiner, Executive Director, Strategic Human Resources Management
  • Brenda Dagenais, Pamela Larocque [Redacted text], Executive Director, Collective Bargaining
  • Nancy Martel, Executive Director, Human Resources Services
  • Chantal Seeton, Executive Director, Workplace Health and Diversity
  • Chantelle Steacy, Director, Executive Group Services
  • Luc Rivard, Executive Director, Learning
  • Ann Fraser, Executive Director, Values, Integrity and Conflict Resolution

Communications and public affairs overview

• Provides effective communications service and support to help inform CFIA employees, Canadians, stakeholders and media about the Agency and its work.
• Provides long- and short-term strategic communications advice and products to support and enable effective communications and engagement with staff and external stakeholders.
• Works closely with CFIA clients to identify emerging issues, so that effective communications and outreach strategies are developed and implemented for an effective response.
• Liaises with Minister's office regarding communication products such as media lines.
• Monitors the media environment and generating detailed reports covering local, national and international news about the CFIA and related subject material.
• Plans and implements consultation and outreach activities to inform and educate consumers and other CFIA stakeholders about the Agency and its work.
• Provides guidance and resources to support CFIA clients with their social media, creative services and web publishing needs.
• Coordinates all public opinion research, advertising and public notices in accordance with the Directive on the Management of Communications.

Communications and public affairs organizational chart

• Jonathan Massey-Smith [Redacted text], Vice-President, Communications and Public Affairs
  • Katie Donnelly-O'Neill, Executive Director, Engagement, Corporate and e-Communications
  • Renée Campbell, Executive Director, Strategic Communications

Audit and evaluation branch overview

• Leads on internal audit and program evaluation. The Chief, Audit and Evaluation reports directly to the President, and is accountable to the Office of the Comptroller General.
• Liaises with external assurance providers, such as the Office of the Auditor General of Canada and the Office of the Comptroller General to facilitate access to Agency staff and information.
• Is Secretariat to the Departmental Audit Committee and the Agency Performance Measurement and Evaluation Committee. The Audit Committee advises the President on the adequacy of the Agency's risk management, control and governance processes (including AEB).
• Internal audit is an independent, objective assurance and review function. It is designed to add value and improve the Agency's operations by conducting timely, risk-based audits and providing evidence-based and practical recommendations.
• Evaluation supports results and delivery by providing evidence to help Agency management make informed decisions. It provides strategic advice on the relevance and performance of CFIA programs, policies, initiatives and functions.

Audit and evaluation organizational chart

• Joanne Butler, Chief, Audit and Evaluation
  • Tara Kuzyk (Acting), Director, Evaluation
  • Suzanne Veaudry-Brown (Acting), Director, Internal Audit

Integrity and redress overview

• Comprises the Access to Information and Privacy Office, Complaints and Appeals Office, and Office of the Staffing Ombudsman.
• Was created in November 2011 as part of the CFIA's commitment to improve service to stakeholders and enhance transparency in decision-making.
• Operates at arm's length from the rest of the Agency and its establishment is intended to provide a structure with a dual orientation – external to hear from stakeholders, and internal to hear from employees.

Integrity and redress organizational chart

• Merril Bawden, Chief Redress Officer
  • Vacant, Director, Complaints and Appeals
  • Everett Ethier, Director, Access to Information and Privacy

Legal services overview

• The Legal Services Unit is comprised of lawyers, paralegals and administrative professionals. The lawyers, who are employed by the Department of Justice (DOJ), act on behalf of the Minister of Justice and the Attorney General of Canada as the official legal advisor to the CFIA on all matters of law connected with CFIA. The paralegals and administrative professionals are employees of CFIA or AAFC.
• Provides legal advisory services on matters related to:
  • policies, programs, and operations.
  • legislative acts and regulations
  • investigations, enforcement, complaints and appeals before the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal.
  • processes, reports, Ministerial Reviews, and various agreements and arrangements.
• Supports DOJ litigation counsel who represent the CFIA in matters before the courts and tribunals, and coordinate legal advice with DOJ centres of expertise in matters such as official languages, procurement, employment and labour law.

Legal services organizational chart

• Carole Bidal, Executive Director and Senior General Counsel, Legal Services
  • Paula Wilson, Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel
  • Mark Belliveau, Deputy Executive Director and General Counsel

CFIA's Governance Structure

Senior Management Committee (SMC)

Chair(s): President / Executive Vice-President

• Oversight for the management of the organization.
• Forum for strategic direction setting. Information exchange to enable decision-making by the President and Executive Vice-President.
• Considers key strategic business issues and determines future directions.
• Reviews Agency Dashboards and receives Senior Governance updates and presentations (as required).

Food Business Line Management Board (FBLMB)

Chair: ED DFSSMHD, PPB
Vice-Chair: TBD

• Reviews Business line priorities and monitors their delivery through the implementation of the annual business line plan.
• Examines science, policy, program and operational issues and initiatives related to food programs.

Plant Business Line Management Board (PBLMB)

Chair: ED PHBD, PPB
Vice-Chair: TBD

• Reviews Business line priorities and monitors their delivery through the implementation of the annual business line plan.
• Examines science, policy, program and operational issues and initiatives related to plant programs.

Animal Health Business Line Management Board (AHBLMB)

Chair: ED AHD, PPB
Vice-Chair: TBD

• Reviews Business line priorities and monitors their delivery through the implementation of the annual business line plan.
• Examines science, policy, program and operational issues and initiatives related to animal health programs.

Program and Policy Management Committee (PPMC)

Chair: VP PPB
Vice-Chair: VP Science

• Advice and recommendations to Functional Authorities and SMC to enable decisions on strategic directions, priorities and resource capacity utilization, related to policy, programs, operations and science activities. Integrator of Business Line and Branch Plans.
• Reviews medium and long-term strategic policy.
• Integration of program design and delivery as they pertain to implementation, operationalization, results and evaluation.
• Discuss issues and endorse positions related to CFIA's international (high profile) engagement.

Strategic Priorities Oversight Committee (SPOC)

Chair(s): President / Executive Vice-President
Vice-Chair: VP IBSDB

• Agency-wide strategic item(s) oversight and decision-making body for initiatives that have been identified as Agency Priorities and are included on the integrated plan.
• Ensure that strategic initiatives achieve their intended results and collectively deliver on the objectives articulated in Responding for Today, Building for the Future.

Corporate Management Committee (CMC)

Chair: VP CMB
Vice-Chair: VP HRB

• Advice and recommendations to Functional Authorities, SMC and the President, to enable decisions on resource capacity identification, allocations, planning and reporting, corporate policies, communications, plans and strategies.
• Advice and recommendations to enable decisions on human resource programs and policies.

Information Governance Committee (IGC)

Chair: Chief Data and Risk Officer (CDRO)
Vice-Chair: ED PHBD, PPB

• Provides leadership in promoting and mobilizing an Agency culture that values information quality and sharing, treating them as enterprise assets.
• Provides direction and oversight to advance Agency information governance, and enable the Agency to create information resources that are reliable, reusable and accessible to the right people, in the right format, at the right time.

Business Integration Committee (BIC)

Chair: ED Science
Vice-Chair: ED CMB

• Ensure proper alignment on horizontal issues that cut across multiple business lines.
• Make recommendations on Program Design and Delivery, including international engagement.
• Ensure integrated planning on agency initiatives to support a One Agency approach.
• Oversee Agency performance management, including oversight and reporting.

Finance, Integration and Project Oversight Committee (FIPO)

Chair: ED CMB
Vice-Chair: ED IBSDB

• Advice, analytics, integration, oversight, governance, monitoring and reporting on Agency level financial allocation and corporate issues.
• Advice, guidance and decision making authority on projects.
• Management, oversight and challenge function on financial related issue and corporate initiatives.

Roles and responsibilities

When the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) was established in 1997, its enabling legislation, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act, conferred upon it the status of a departmental corporation and not that of a department. Unlike a department, it has a distinct legal personality and its own specialized mandate and duties that are separate and distinct from those of the Minister responsible for the Agency. A department, on the other hand, does not have a legal personality or mandate of its own and exists only to support the Minister presiding over it. From a practical perspective, in a typical department, the powers flow from the Minister to the departmental officials whereas, in the case of CFIA, the majority of the powers are conferred directly on the Agency or its President.

Ministerial responsibility for the CFIA activities is divided between the Minister of Health and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. Initially, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food had the overall responsibility for the Agency. In 2013, with the transfer of control and supervision by way of an order made under the Public Service Rearrangement and Transfer of Duties Act, the Minister of Health assumed responsibility for and overall direction of CFIA. He or she now holds all powers, duties and functions that are assigned to the Minister relating to food safety under any Act of Parliament administered and enforced by CFIA. The Health Minister is responsible, although in an attenuated way, for actions taken by CFIA officials under legislative powers conferred on them directly. The Agriculture Minister has no responsibility for powers, duties or functions conferred directly on CFIA officials whether or not the authorities in question relate to food safety.

Minister of health

Health Canada has a broad mandate which is primarily grounded in the federal spending power. Under subsection 4(1) of the Department of Health Act, there are only two restrictions on the Minister's powers, duties and functions relating to the promotion and preservation of the health of Canadians: it must be a matter over which Parliament has jurisdiction and it must not be assigned by law to any other department, board or agency of the Government of Canada.

The Minister of Health has responsibility for all departments and agencies in the Health Portfolio, including the CFIA. As the Minister responsible for CFIA and its overall direction, he or she plays a leadership role in shaping new policy, program and financial decisions, particularly with respect to managing risks related to food safety. The Minister's role is to set broad policy direction. In enacting the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act, Parliament did not intend that the Minister be involved in or directly responsible for the administration and enforcement of the program legislation (i.e. the Acts listed in section 11 of the CFIA Act).

The Minister of Health enables the Agency to continue its work protecting Canadians from food safety risks by, for example:

• Delegating to officials the powers and duties that have been assigned to the Minister (e.g., issuing licences under the Safe Food for Canadians Act) as set out in the laws administered or enforced by the CFIA;
• Fixing the fees to be paid by industry using specified CFIA services (e.g., issuing an export certificate);
• Ordering a recall in the event that a company is unwilling or unable to recall a potentially unsafe product from the marketplace;
• Reporting to Parliament on the activities of the CFIA; and,
• Approving CFIA communication and engagement efforts related to food safety with Canadians and other stakeholders (e.g., industry associations).

Minister of Agriculture and Agri-food

The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food is responsible for the Agriculture Portfolio and is the lead on promoting the economic well-being of the agriculture and agri-food sector. With respect to the CFIA, the Minister of Agriculture is responsible for the non-food safety legislation administered and enforced by the CFIA, including the facilitation of market access, animal health and plant protection. The Minister of Agriculture enables the Agency to fulfill its non-food safety responsibilities by, for example:

• Delegating to officials the powers and duties that have been assigned to the Minister as set out in the animal health legislation (e.g., issuing veterinary biologic import permits), plant protection legislation (e.g., establishing the form of a plant import permit), and, any non-food safety legislation administered and enforced by the CFIA; and,
• Setting out the strategic direction to support the CFIA's market access facilitation in negotiating scientific and technical issues with foreign trading partners (e.g., conditions Canadian exporters need to meet in order to sell their agricultural and agri-food products abroad).

The unique relationship of the CFIA to the Minister of Health and the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food often requires a collaborative and joint approach to advancing related and dependent initiatives as they cross areas of responsibilities, e.g., market access issues involving food safety and animal health issues that can potentially impact the safety of the food supply (e.g., antimicrobial resistance).

President

The President of the CFIA, who is the Chief Executive Officer by virtue of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act, has the rank and all the powers of the deputy head of a department. He or she has the supervision over and direction of the Agency's work and staff and sets the terms and conditions of their employment and assigns their duties. The President may designate any person or class of persons as inspectors, analysts, graders, veterinary inspectors or other officers. Under section 7 of the CFIA Act, he or she may delegate to any person any power, duty or function that is conferred on him or her by any enactment and may choose by whom any powers delegated by the Minister will be exercised. The Act does not provide for sub-delegation.

Subsection 24(2) of the Interpretation Act, which allows a departmental employee to exercise the powers of the Minister responsible for the department, does not apply to CFIA. For Ministerial powers to be exercised by CFIA and its President, the powers must be delegated by the Minister with the exception of the specific authority of an inspector to exercise certain of the Minister's powers under the Health of Animals Act and the Plant Protection Act.

The President is responsible for supporting the Minister of Health and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food in fulfilling their responsibilities. He or she provides leadership, promotes collaboration across the public service, and encourages innovation and a results-oriented organizational environment within the CFIA.

In this role, the President,

• Provides sound and timely advice to the Ministers on issues and initiatives of the CFIA and their impact on government, industry, and the public.
• Manages the CFIA to ensure that the organization has the right people, work environment, and capacity to successfully fulfill its mandate.
• Supports the Ministers by providing advice on the management of their portfolios, and answering questions or providing information on behalf of the Ministers before parliamentary committees.

Powers of a Deputy Minister

The Deputy Minister of Health or Agriculture and Agri-food is appointed by the Governor in Council. Deputy Ministers are appointed "to hold office during pleasure and to be the deputy head of the department". Their powers are not as clearly defined as those of the President of the Agency. The role of a Deputy Minister is to support the Minister. He or she is responsible for ensuring sound public service advice and effective departmental management. The Deputy Minister is responsible under subsection 12.2(1) of the Financial Administration Act for delegating to any person any of his or her powers or functions in relation to human resources management. Under subsection (2) of the Act, any persons to whom powers of functions are delegated may sub-delegate them. The authority of the Deputy Minister to exercise the Minister's powers flows from subsection 24(2) of the Interpretation Act. A Deputy Minister may provide support for the Minister's portfolio responsibilities, if any.

CFIA Priorities

• Framework: Responding to Today, Building for the Future
• 2018 Progress Report: Responding to Today, Building for the Future

Framework: Responding to Today, Building for the Future

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is strongly committed to its mission to safeguard food, animals and plants to enhance the health and well-being of Canada's people, environment and economy.

The existing control system has served us well, but it was developed in another time, when most of what was bought and sold originated in Canada, food was less processed and supply chains were simple.

The risks to food, animal health and plants have changed considerably in recent years and continue to change rapidly. At the same time, Canadian industry has to be more efficient and innovative to compete in a global economy.

It is in this context that the CFIA began to fundamentally change the way we manage risk, support industry's ability to compete globally, and embrace technology to provide more efficient and responsive service.

Building on the considerable work done to date, the Agency is renewing its commitment to ambitious priorities which will be implemented through specific projects and through the normal evolution of our day-to-day work.

Rapid Pace of Change

Technological advancements

Rapid and dramatic increases in the speed, volume and complexity of production have introduced new risks and hazards, and forced industries and regulators to rethink conventional approaches to prevention and oversight.

Today's highly efficient mass distribution and supply networks mean that problems can quickly become widespread.

At the same time, technological advances are creating tremendous opportunity for Canadian industry. Our highly skilled and technologically savvy workforce offers a potential competitive advantage in a global marketplace that is hungry for innovative products and processes.

Emerging science, sophisticated new technologies and more integrated surveillance information have enormous potential to improve our ability to assess, prevent and detect risks.

Finally, the CFIA's stakeholders and consumers exist in a digital world and increasingly expect service through multiple channels — paper-based systems are justifiably seen as inefficient.

Global trade of food, plants and animals

The global marketplace and consumer demand for new and exotic food and plants has significantly increased the amount of imported product into Canada — 70% of processed food and fresh fruits and vegetables, for example, are now imported.

Dynamic international supply chains have exponentially increased sourcing of individual components from more places across the world. Consolidation in the food and agricultural industries add further complexity for regulatory oversight.

Human, animal and plant ecosystem issues are increasingly intertwined as the movement of people, plants, animals and food heightens the risk of transmitting pests and diseases. Climate change is likely to exacerbate already difficult risks to manage. Increases in animal health diseases, such as Avian Influenza, require significant CFIA resources to respond, while plant pests, such as Emerald Ash Borer, can become almost impossible to eradicate once naturalized in our ecosystem.

The opportunities provided by globalization depend heavily on the ability of exporters to maintain existing markets, and to gain access to new markets. More than ever, exporters rely on governments to bring consistency, best practices and fairness to international trade.

Responding to the Changes: Our Strategic Priorities

To maximize its capacity to respond to risk in today's world, and in the years to come, the CFIA must continuously improve and adapt its business model in a number of areas.

The CFIA must:

• have a modern regulatory toolkit to help protect food, plant and animals against emerging risks, while supporting industry to innovate and compete internationally;
• use an integrated risk management approach to allocate resources, using the best possible science, foresight and risk intelligence;
• conduct consistent and efficient inspections while being flexible and nimble to respond to risks;
• embrace technology, moving toward digital-first tools and services for businesses and consumers to get the information and service they need; and
• be a global leader to influence international standards to improve safety and environmental outcomes and support market access for Canadian products.

To make these priorities a reality, the CFIA will:

• engage our employees as we move forward to ensure our talented and committed staff have a strong voice and are ready for the changes; and
• engage our partners — industry, provincial and territorial governments, academia and consumers — who play key roles in our national food, plant and animal control systems.

CFIA Goals

CFIA has established five goals, each with associated projects and activities:

1. Outcome-based regulations, with new compliance promotion tools

To meet this goal we will:

• Administer the replacement of 14 existing commodity-based food regulations with the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, to apply internationally recognized food safety standards for all food imported, exported and traded inter-provincially;
• Systematically modernize the animal health and plant protection regulatory suite starting with updated animal feed and fertilizer regulations;
• Develop new guidance, written in plain language, that explains why regulatory provisions exist and provide guidance on how to achieve outcomes; and,
• Streamline and update our cost recovery regime to ensure greater consistency and predictability of fee levels and service standards.

2. New risk management tools, analytics and surveillance to inform resource allocations and enforcement priorities

To meet this goal we will:

• Continue to develop risk intelligence tools and analytics to inform program design, planning and compliance and enforcement priorities;
• Enhance our surveillance, risk analysis and foresight capacity to improve prevention; and,
• Integrate inspection results to further inform risk-based planning.

3. A consistent inspection approach focused on regulatory outcomes and supported by mobile tools and guidance

To meet this goal we will:

• Implement a consistent inspection approach for all inspections – the Integrated Agency Inspection Model – focused on verifying regulatory outcomes;
• Use technology, including mobile tools, to free inspectors from administrative tasks and provide timely regulatory interpretation to help them confidently execute compliance and enforcement activities; and,
• Move away from prescriptive tasks and frequencies, toward a flexible, system-based approach that reflects inspector knowledge, experience and judgement.

4. Electronic access as the preferred method of requesting and receiving services

To meet this goal we will:

• Promote electronic access as the preferred method of requesting and receiving services, such as a permit, certificate or license;
• Clients will be able to access a full range of services and information they need to comply with regulations through an electronic account (My CFIA);
• Create a single point of entry, Ask CFIA, for questions related to regulatory interpretation, with timely, consistent, and clear responses; and,
• Provide support for transactions through a National Service Centre.

5. Pursue improved international standards, fairness in trade practices, enhanced use of technology and regulatory cooperation

To meet this goal we will:

• Advocate and foster consensus internationally for standards that will enhance food safety, plant and animal health, and demonstrate our commitment by applying international standards to domestic controls systems;
• Support our industry by continuously pursuing fairness in trading practices and application of international standards with trading partners;
• Provide international leadership in the application of new technologies and processes; and,
• Pursue regulatory cooperation with like-minded jurisdictions to share and benefit from best practices.

What does this mean moving forward?

• It means a robust engagement strategy to support our employees, industry and other stakeholders have a strong voice in shaping our path forward and that we commit to listen to their ideas and concerns;
• It means that over time, we will review all applicable regulations and programs to determine whether they are as outcome-based, efficient and as flexible as possible;
• It means we will maintain a "One Agency" approach so that all parts of the Agency are moving toward the same goals and ready to deliver;
• It means we will standardize our processes where possible to optimize resources and technology, and bring greater predictability to our services;
• It means that digital service will become the primary, most efficient and preferred channel of engagement with the Agency;
• It means we will work with our partners to help shape our path forward; and,
• It means we will take a fresh look at how we manage and evolve with science innovation to support change and ongoing science operations.

The CFIA is moving in this direction for all its business lines. It started with food, but changes are taking place for plant and animal health as well.

Key Government Priorities related to the CFIA

• Agri-Food Economic Strategy Table (Agri-Food EST)
• Federal Regulatory Review of Agri-Food and Aquaculture
• 2018 Fall Economic Statement (FES)
• Regulatory Priorities

Agri-Food economic strategy table (agri-food EST)

Budget 2017 announced six economic strategy tables to study and make recommendations on how to stimulate innovation, growth and competitiveness of Canadian industry. The Agri-Food EST was tasked with identifying sector specific bottlenecks and developing an action plan to achieve their goals.

The Agri-Food EST explored key issues such as regulations, innovation, infrastructure and market access. It also set its own economic growth targets, including:

• growth in agriculture, agri-food and seafood exports to $85B annually by 2025 (representing a 32% increase from $64.6B in exports in 2017); and,
• growth in domestic sales to $140B annually by 2025 (representing a 27% increase from $110B in domestic sales in 2017).

The EST reports were made public on September 25, 2018.

Federal regulatory review of agri-food and aquaculture

The CFIA led the federal regulatory review of the agri-food and aquaculture sector. The reviews focused on supporting innovation and business investment through a more agile, transparent and responsive regulatory system. [Redacted text].

Status of the roadmap:

• When the Government of Canada's Fall Economic Statement was released on November 21st, 2018, it included early action items from the agri-food and aquaculture regulatory review, along with initiatives to improve the regulatory process, and funding for export markets. Ten of the CFIA's regulatory review initiatives were included:
  • Feed Regulatory Modernization
  • Regulatory Framework for Fertilizers and Plant Supplements in Canada
  • Food Labeling Modernization
  • Increased Canadian Participation/Influence in International Standards Setting Bodies
  • Internal Trade Issues Relating to Food Grades, Food Packaging, Food Labeling and Organic Products
  • Pre-Market Assessment of Agricultural Inputs
  • Approach to Novel Products of Biotechnology (Plant Breeding Innovation)
  • Digital Services
  • Recognition of Third Party Oversight
  • Potential Duplication of Oversight.
  • Two additional CFIA Regulatory Review initiatives have been announced separately, in the context of internal trade:
    • Food Safety Oversight: Domestic Equivalence (with particular focus on meat); and
    • Reviewing the Policy for "Product of Canada" Label Claims for Foods.

Next steps:

• In early 2019, Treasury Board Secretariat will publish a "What we heard" report, to summarize input received from stakeholders in response to a request published in Canada Gazette I.
  • [Redacted text].
  • Review departments and agencies will implement the actions identified in the Roadmap, and report on progress.

2018 Fall economic statement (FES)

The FES includes several measures that will help to deliver progress on some of the recommendations made by the Economic Strategy Tables. The following outlines CFIA's implications:

1. Key investments in trade and market access

• Enhancing trade services for Canadian exporters and improving market access:
  • $25M/five years targeted at expanding support for agricultural exporters to better engage with international standard setting bodies (ISSBs) and support efforts to meet the Government's goal of growing exports.
  • The investment ($11M/five years for CFIA; $12M/five years for AAFC, and $3M/five years for HC) is intended to enhance the federal capacity to address situations where Canadian agricultural producers may be prevented from selling goods in international markets.

2. Removing barriers to trade within Canada

• The Government commits to accelerating work with P/T partners to remove regulatory and other barriers. Specifically, the CFIA will harmonize food regulations and inspection rules across the country (with reference made to meat inspection).

3. Regulatory reform agenda and early "wins" from the regulatory reviews

• The FES identified new steps in the Government's efforts to reform and modernize federal regulations including:
  • Introducing an Annual Regulatory Modernization Bill (beginning in 2019) to remove outdated or duplicative regulatory requirements and enable updating of regulations;
  • Exploring competitiveness as a permanent part of regulatory mandates through potential legislative changes to further solidify that regulatory efficiency and economic growth is an integral part of regulators' mandate;
  • Creating an External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness to assist Ministers and regulators to identify changes that promote economic growth and innovation; and, provide guidance on where new regulatory frameworks are required to deal with emerging technologies (using regulatory sandboxes and pilots);
  • Launching a Centre for Regulatory Innovation to help businesses connect with relevant regulators and "manage a roster of sandboxes". This will be supported by up to $11.4M/five years and $3.2M ongoing; and
  • Providing up to $10M/three years to enhance federal capacity to incorporate economic and competitiveness considerations when designing and implementing regulations.

Regulatory priorities

Delivering on priorities: 2019 and beyond

Subject to ministerial approval, the Agency outlines its regulatory priorities twice a year in its Forward Regulatory Plan (FRP), which is posted on the Agency's website every fall and spring. The FRP contributes to a predictable and transparent regulatory environment for regulated parties, stakeholders and the public. The last posting of the FRP was on October 1st 2018.

The 2019-2021 update to the Forward Regulatory Plan was delivered to Ministers on February 20th with a March 22nd approval date. Following approval, it will be posted externally on April 1st.

The Agency has a number of key regulatory deliverables it anticipates advancing for consideration from now until June 2019, for example, the beer sector publication in CGII. Most were raised by regulated parties during the recent consultations related to the regulatory review process and are already captured under the October 1, 2018 update to the FRP. Individual briefings will be provided on the regulatory proposals the Agency intends to advance for consideration during this period. Of note, the proposals may fall under either the purview of the Minister of Health or the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food. In some cases, the proposals may fall under both.

Legislative amendments

The Fertilizers Act will be amended to replace references to the North American Free Trade Agreement with the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA). Amendments related to the ratification and implementations of CUSMA are being led by Global Affairs Canada. [Redacted text].

Overview of the Financial Situation

• Financial Situation
• Departmental Results Framework
• Management Accountability Framework: 2017-18 Departmental Report

Financial Situation

Setting the context

The CFIA currently manages a budget of over $800 million. The Agency expenditures have two mains envelopes: operating and investment. The operating envelope generally represents over 90% of the agency's total resources – the majority of this envelope is dedicated to the workforce (over 80% for pay expenditures). The investment plan (IP) represent the balance of the agency's resources (less than 10%) and varies depending on funding for temporary initiatives.

The agency's financial situation has tightened in recent years due to a number of austerity measures. For fiscal year 2018-19, the agency projects an un-earmarked operating surplus of $8M, or 1% of budget, which is less than the target operating carry-forward of 2% to 5% as suggested by TBS.

On the IP front, the agency manages considerable assets and technology projects within a relatively small funding envelope which is creating challenges in balancing requirements to address rust-out of equipment, fleet and real property while supporting innovation projects. With a base IP budget around $20M excluding sunsetting project funding, there is a considerable funding gap. The agency is leveraging government wide initiatives, such as the federal science and technology infrastructure initiative, to address some of the critical infrastructure gaps.

The re-spendable revenues are relatively stable at $56M per year. User fees are at a fraction of the cost and largely unchanged since the establishment of the Agency in 1997. There have been a number of challenges which have prevented the agency's ability to update its service fees.

In addition to constraint measures which have been compressing branch resources, the agency is undertaking proactive reviews, such as the recent CFIA review, to find efficiencies and re-allocate resources to fund priorities, highest programmatic risks and emerging pressures.

Financial particularities at CFIA

Statutory revenue spending authority

The revenue spending authority provided by the CFIA Act allows the Agency to spend revenues from its operations and carry forward any unspent amount to future years. This is a very valuable financial management authority.

Emergency reserve

The Agency permanently sets aside $5.8M annually from its Operating budget to deal with emergencies. Any unused amount can be carried forward to the next fiscal year for reallocation.

Grants and contributions (G&C)

As the total G&C payments in CFIA is less than $5M, it is funded from the operation vote instead of a separate transfer payments vote.

Programs include: the Federal Assistance Program (FAP) contribution program typically issues approximately $1M per year to fund activities, performed by academia and not-for-profit organizations, that are aligned with the Agency's core mandate, and the Innovation Solution Canada grant program - $650K per year.

Statutory animal and plant compensation payments

Compensation payments are issued to producers when animals or plants are destroyed for disease/pest control purposes. The Agency has statutory authority to issue these payments directly from the Consolidated Revenue Fund and therefore these do not affect the Agency's operating budget.

Agency centrally managed activities (CMA)

The Agency centrally manages non-discretionary expenditures, such as software licences fees, payment in lieu of tax, etc. The annual spending for the CMA is approximately $52M.

Agency spending trend

A number of CFIA's initiatives are financed by temporary and fenced funding which require periodic and repeated renewal. [Redacted text].

Departmental Results Framework

Core responsibilities

Safe food, healthy plants and animals

Departmental results

• Food sold in Canada is safe and accurately represented to Canadians
• Plant and animal resources are protected from diseases and pests and are safe for Canadians and the environment
• Canadian food, plants and animals and their associated products can be traded internationally

Departmental results indicator

• Compliance of food businesses
• Timeliness of public warnings for high risk food recalls
• Status of plant pests
• Compliance of seed, fertilizer, plant varieties and products
• Compliance of inspected loads of live animals
• Status of animal diseases affecting human/animal health
• Status of Canada's international exports

Program inventory

• Programs and internal services adding up to 100 per cent of human and financial resources.

Overview of Human Resource Management

• CFIA as a Separate Agency
• Overview of CFIA Employees
• CFIA Demographic Picture
• Inspection Capacity

CFIA as a Separate Agency

Background

• The Canadian Food Inspection Act ("CFIA Act") provides the president with the authority to appoint employees, classify positions and set terms and conditions of employment.
• As a separate agency (listed in schedule V of the Financial Administration Act), the CFIA is similar to other federal public service organizations, in that it:
  1. reports to Ministers, who in turn are accountable to Parliament;
  2. must serve the public interest, as well as service its clients;
  3. has many similar legal obligations to the rest of the Public Service, through the various acts applicable to it;
  4. has operational ties to other Public Service departments and agencies;
  5. requires Treasury Board approval of its mandate for collective bargaining and expenditures;
  6. its employees are represented by the two largest bargaining agents in the federal public service; and
  7. shares a common culture with the larger Public Service.
• However, as a separate agency, the president's authority under the CFIA Act provides much greater flexibility and autonomy and broader opportunities for Human Resources (HR) management, when compared to Core Public Administration (CPA) organizations (for which Treasury Board is legally the employer).
• Under the CFIA Act, the Agency has the authority to manage its personnel. Treasury Board human resources policies made under the authority of the Financial Administration Act do not apply to the agency unless they are explicitly adopted.
• The statutory authority to appoint CFIA employees is provided to the president under the CFIA Act. Therefore, the provisions of the Public Service Employment Act ("PSEA") dealing with the appointment of persons to the federal public service do not apply to the CFIA.
• However, the CFIA's HR practices and policies are influenced by the Agency's membership in the federal public service and commitment to ensure mobility opportunities for its employees. As a result, the CFIA develops human resources policies and guidelines to meet its own operational needs that are often based on a combination of legislation, policies, directives and guidelines similar to those applicable to the CPA, as well as best practices from other governmental or non-governmental organizations or jurisdictions.
• Although the Agency has the authority to establish its own policy instruments, it is important to note that the Agency has historically sought to maintain alignment with relevant decisions and direction of the CPA. Since the creation of the Agency in 1997, many of Treasury Board's policies, directives and guidelines have been adopted. In some cases this was intended to be an interim measure during the implementation phase of the creation of the Agency.
• Where the CFIA Act presents opportunities for innovation and new approaches to HR management, in order to address its unique operational needs, the Agency has developed, or is in the process of developing, its own HR policies, interpretations and practices. For example:

  1. staffing: as the CFIA Act provides the President with exclusive authority to appoint staff to the Agency, as noted above the CFIA is not subject to the PSEA.

     A new staffing suite, including an updated staffing policy, directive, and guidelines will be implemented April 2019 to strengthen transparency in staffing decisions and to introduce enhanced oversight, including staffing appointments notifications and a formal recourse process.

  2. classification and organizational design: the CFIA Act has enabled the Agency to develop policies and practices to address specific business needs, such as the development and implementation of the veterinarian reserve, creation of an employee "as required" category, and EX Classification policies. The majority of CFIA positions follow the classification standards used in the CPA, but the CFIA has also developed and implemented unique classification standards to in response to specific needs, such as those for our Inspection Managers (IM), and Special Program Advisory (SPA) employees. Work continues on the full implementation of a new classification standard for the Scientific and Regulatory groups (SR) which replaces the Biological Science (BI), Chemist (CH), Agriculture (AG) classification groups.

  3. collective bargaining: as a Separate Agency the CFIA is responsible for negotiating collective agreements for its four bargaining units with two bargaining agents: the Professional Institute of the Public Service (PIPSC) and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC). The CFIA receives approval of its bargaining mandates from the Treasury Board.

• The CFIA is primarily a unionized environment. PSAC represents the CFIA's unionized operational and administrative employees or just over 60% of the Agency's employees. PIPSC represents unionized professional employees in the Informatics (IN) group, the Scientific & Analytical group (S&A) and the Veterinary Medicine (VM) group, or about 30% of the Agency's workforce. Approximately 10% of CFIA employees are excluded or unrepresented.
• The CFIA has its own Union Management Consultation Policy and Union-Management Consultation Framework, based on the understanding that collaborative efforts between the Parties, through sustained communications and dialogue, improve Union-Management relationships and ensure a healthy and productive workplace. Through the National Occupational Health and Safety Committee and its Mental Health sub-committee, co-managed between CFIA management and the bargaining agents, a great deal of important work is done to ensure employees and managers have the support and the resources they need to work in a safe and healthy environment.

Overview of CFIA Employees

CFIA Demographic Picture

Key Partners and Committees

• Committees
• All Chairs Value Chain Roundtable (VCRT)
• Federal-Provincial-Territorial Relations (FPT)
• Key Industry Stakeholders

Committees

Expert Advisory Committee

Background

The role Expert Advisory Committee (EAC) is to provide the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) with objective professional and technical advice on key issues related to the CFIA's three business lines: food safety, animal health and plant health. It was established in response to the Report of the Independent Investigator into the 2008 Listeriosis Outbreak in order to formalize CFIA's engagement with industry, as well as other federal departments and agencies.

• As chair of this committee, you will be responsible for:
  • holding a meeting as least three times per year;
  • overseeing the proceedings of the EAC and chairing meetings;
  • appointing members to the EAC;
  • determining the work and agenda for EAC discussions;
  • receiving advice from the EAC; and
  • reporting back to the EAC regarding the actions taken based on their advice.

Next steps

• The next meeting is scheduled for March 4, 2019.
• There is one immediate vacancy (Steve Morin) at present and anticipate two more before end of fiscal year (Mary Mackey and Keith Mussar).
• Recommendations for the vacancies are under development and will be provided to your office along with suggested next steps.

Current membership roster

• [Redacted text]
• [Redacted text]
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• [Redacted text]
• [Redacted text]^Footnote 1

Ministerial Advisory Board

Background

The role of the Ministerial Advisory Board (MAB) is to advise the Minister of Health on any matter within the responsibilities of the CFIA. It was created under section 10 of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) Act.

• The MAB may also provide advice to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food on issues relating to his authorities for CFIA activities (trade, animal health, plant health).
• The executive vice president and/or president serve as an ex-officio member of the board and assist in determining areas of engagement for the MAB in collaboration with the MAB Chair and minister's office.

Current status

• The last meeting of MAB was held in May 2015. The agency and ministers' offices have been in the process of renewing the membership since 2017.
• In December 2018, eight individuals were selected and offered membership on the MAB. All membership offers have been accepted and agreements have been signed by all parties. The period of appointment is December 1, 2018 to November 30, 2021.
• Three positions were intentionally not filled as there is a desire to make an additional effort to find suitable candidates from Quebec, the North and/or Indigenous populations.

Next steps

• Both ministers' offices support a targeted outreach to fill the remaining three positions. It is preferable, but not required, that these positions be filled prior to the first meeting of the renewed MAB.
• The first meeting of the renewed MAB is not likely to take place until after the election.

Current membership roster

• [Redacted text]
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All Chairs Value Chain Roundtable

All Chairs

• The all chairs meeting is part of the Value Chain Roundtable (VCRT) meetings, held annually in Ottawa. The next meeting is scheduled to take place on April 16, 2019. The CFIA president represents the CFIA at this forum.
  • The VCRTs were launched in 2003 with the objective of strengthening industry and government collaboration in order to enhance Canadian competitiveness and profitability. They take place annually and bring together key industry leaders from across the value chain including input suppliers, producers, processors, food service industries, retailers, traders, academics, researchers, associations and federal and provincial/territorial government policy makers.
• The meeting is chaired by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) Deputy Minister and includes co-chairs from all 15 VCRT meetings^Footnote 2, and deputy heads from a range of federal departments.
• The meeting provides government and industry leaders with an opportunity to share perspectives on cross-sectoral issues and engage on areas of mutual interest to advance agriculture and agri-food in Canada (e.g. labour; market access; regulatory alignment and innovation and adoption of technology).
• The meeting provides an opportunity to discuss CFIA strategic priorities and industry's role as a partner in advancing the regulatory system in Canada.
• This year will mark the fifteenth annual meeting with VCRT Chairs, and this will be the eleventh time that deputy ministers from other federal departments attend part of the meeting.

Federal-Provincial-Territorial Relations

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) mandate includes responsibilities that span both the Health and Agriculture portfolios. The Agency has a reporting relationship to both the Minister of Health (food safety) and Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (non-food safety, including economic and trade, plant health and animal health) which is unique in federal-provincial-territorial relations.

Health

• The CFIA leverages its position within the federal health portfolio to advance federal-provincial-territorial relations with the Public Health Network Council, Chief Medical Officers of Health, and with the Conference of Health Deputy Ministers and Ministers.
• Currently, the focus has been to foster engagement with Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA).

Agriculture and agri-food

• Under the Canadian Constitution, agriculture is a shared jurisdiction and federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) governments work closely in the development of agriculture policy frameworks and the delivery of programs across the country.
• In addition to plant and animal health which are more typical agriculture portfolio issues, some provincial and territorial ministries of agriculture are also implicated in advancements of food safety related files. The CFIA's mandate also has linkages to aquatics, forestry and the environment which often fall under different provincial ministries.
• The Agency also engages one-on-one with provinces and territories to advance strategic priorities and to address issues of mutual concern. The CFIA advances its multi-lateral relations via formal FPT committees of Ministers, Deputy Ministers (DMs) and Assistant Deputy Ministers (ADMs), including.
  • A policy ADM committee, chaired by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, focused on trade and economic policy related to agriculture; and
  • A regulatory ADM committee, chaired by the CFIA's Policy and Programs Branch (PPB), focused on regulatory initiatives across food safety, plant protection and animal health (see Annex 1: FPT Regulatory ADMs' Committee Structure).
• A meeting of FPT Ministers of Agriculture is held annually, usually in July. Federal-provincial-territorial Deputy Ministers meet twice annually (in winter and fall) to provide strategic leadership, based on identified ministerial commitments as outlined in Annex 2.

Annex 2 - Federal-provincial-territorial regulatory ADMS' work plan priorities 2018-2019^Footnote 3

Key priority areas

1. National traceability system (NTS)

The CFIA is working with provincial and territorial governments to advance the NTS that seeks to mitigate the impacts of livestock disease outbreaks/sanitary issues and to support market access. The ability to follow an animal or group of animals from one point in the supply chain to another will help reduce response times to animal emergency or outbreak, and lead to protection of animal health, public health, and food safety.

2. Safe food for Canadians regulations (SFCR)

The SFCR came into force on January 15, 2019 and will require new licensing, preventive control and traceability requirements for food businesses that import or prepare food for export or to be sent across provincial or territorial borders. The SFCR will result in safer food and allow for faster removal of unsafe food from the marketplace.

3. Canadian plant health council (CPHC)

The CPHC is being set up under the Plant and Animal Health Strategy for Canada, which was developed by FPT governments, industry and academia. The CPHC will prioritize plant health activities including plant pest control, plant sector inputs (seed, fertilizer) and pathways for pests to establish and spread.

New Focus Areas

4. Animal Health Emergency Management (EM)

Disease outbreaks can have immense economic impacts with negative trade implications. [Redacted text].

5. Regulatory Alignment

The objective is to align agri-food domestic regulations across Canada to improve competitiveness and potentially facilitate interprovincial trade. By eliminating regulatory duplication and barriers, the agri-food sector will increase its productivity and profitability and be better positioned to attract investment and governments may reduce administrative burden.

6. Innovation Approvals

The CFIA, in collaboration with provinces and territories, is examining regulatory pathways to speed the review and approval of innovations (e.g. plants with novel traits). The Agency is developing a modern framework with the goal of shortening the approval time for innovations in plant and animal products and technologies.

7. Enhanced Collaboration

PTs have highlighted a need to engage with FPT ministries outside the agriculture and food mandate in order to address issues that can limit innovation and competitiveness of the sector (e.g. labour, transportation systems, digital infrastructure, pesticides, inconsistent standards and labelling requirements). To date, FPT engagement with Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency has been enhanced to address regulatory concerns with pesticide re-evaluations.

The key industry stakeholders

Key Files Food Safety

• Food Safety
• Animal Health
• Plant Health
• International Affairs

Food Safety

The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations

On January 15, 2019, the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) came into force, marking a milestone in food safety for Canada. The SFCR improves safety by focusing on prevention and allowing for faster removal of unsafe food from the marketplace. The regulations replace 14 commodity-specific regulations and apply consistent, outcome-based requirements to all food businesses that import into Canada or prepare for interprovincial trade or export.

The SFCR enables the implementation of other agency priorities, including standard inspections, risk-based resource allocation, digital service delivery and positions Canada to be a global leader in aligning to international standards.

On January 15, 2019, sectors that were previously subject to CFIA regulations (meat, fish dairy, eggs, fruit and vegetables, maple, honey) needed a SFCR license and preventive control plan (fresh fruit and vegetables have additional year for preventive controls). Requirements will be phased in for other sectors over a period of 12-30 months. The Agency has issued over 3000 safe food for Canadians licenses and the national service centre answered approximately 5000 telephone enquiries.

Next steps:

• The CFIA will take a graduated enforcement approach to ensuring compliance with the SFCR, initially focusing on ensuring regulated parties have their license and a preventive control plan.
• Effective January 15, 2020, the preventive controls requirements will come into force for the fresh fruit and vegetable sector, including on-farm controls.

Raw breaded chicken

Salmonella illness rates have been rising steadily. Raw breaded chicken products have been a particular source of illness because they appear cooked. In March 2018, CFIA issued a directive to industry to bring salmonella to below detectable levels by April 1, 2019. Industry has recently asked for a 1-year extension citing problems purchasing and installing cooking equipment, which CFIA denied due to the gravity of the public health issue.

Next steps:

• Operations will inspect facilities beginning April 1, 2019 to ensure industry has put in place appropriate control measures.

Food labelling modernization (FLM)

FLM will bring labelling consistency in a number of important areas for consumers, including: date marking, origin of imported food, legibility, dealer name, and address. It will bring more flexibility for industry, including moving to more outcome-based rules, reducing requirements, and use of incorporation by reference to be able to respond more quickly to a changing marketplace. [Redacted text].

Next steps:

• [Redacted text]

Vodka standard

Changes to the vodka standard to allow greater flexibility in what can be called "vodka" were announced in a government of Canada news release in November 2018, as part of federal actions to enhance economic competitiveness and improve trade between provinces and territories. [Redacted text]. CFIA has released a notice of intent for consultation.

Next steps:

• CFIA will analyze the responses to the notice of intent and report to the Minister of Agriculture, with information to the Minister of Health. Drafting of the economic analyses is underway to meet [Redacted text] deadlines.

Beer

Changes to the beer standard to allow greater flexibility in what can be called "beer" were published in CGI in 2018, [Redacted text]. Industry has requested this change.

Next Steps:

• [Redacted text]

Modernized slaughter inspection program in hogs

The CFIA is modernizing the inspection system for federally registered hog slaughter establishments. The Modernized Slaughter Inspection Program (MSIP) aligns with the Agency's modernization initiative and is modeled after the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) HACCP-Based Inspection Models Project (HIMP). Over fifteen years ago, the CFIA implemented modernized inspection in poultry slaughter with excellent food safety outcomes. MSIP in hogs is a continuation of this modernization program.

The MSIP in hogs is an inspection model that would shift the focus of the CFIA inspectors from a routine defect detection role, to testing and verification of companies' systems to identify and control risks. Under MSIP, the industry will present pre-screened carcasses to CFIA inspectors for further inspection before the final carcass wash to ensure that the carcasses meet the regulatory requirements. MSIP will better align Canada's approach with the US, as it is similar to the US inspection model. Active involvement of agency employees, management, union, industry and academia at every step is the cornerstone of this project.

Next steps:

• The proposed model has been successfully piloted at two hog facilities in the Western Area. Performance indicators, learning, and feedback gathered throughout the pilot supported by ongoing engagement with internal and external stakeholders have been applied to measure the outcome of the pilot.
• The Strategic Priorities Oversight Committee (SPOC) has reviewed the performance of the pilot and has endorsed the expansion of the pilot to additional establishments. In order to validate the results from the initial study; the new inspection approach will be piloted in an additional 2-4 establishments of varying sizes and operations in other geographical areas.

Animal health

African swine fever (ASF)

ASF, a reportable disease under the Health of Animals Act, is a contagious viral swine disease and can cause high mortality rates in infected domestic and wild pigs. While there is no human health risk associated with it, its introduction into Canada will have major impact on the industry, the Canadian economy and swine sector. While there have been no reported cases of ASF in North America to date its rapid spread in Asia and some European countries is raising concern. Spread is occurring through the movement of people and contaminated things such as meat and animal feed. In response, the CFIA is monitoring the situation in China and Europe and has recently initiated preparedness planning through a National Response team. This team is dedicated to ensuring appropriate measures are taken in preventing the introduction of ASF and that appropriate laboratory and field response capacity is available in Canada.

Next steps:

• CFIA continues to focus sustained efforts on critical aspects of ASF prevention and preparedness activities, including:
  • [Redacted text]
  • [Redacted text]
  • Aggressive communication efforts are also ongoing, aimed at increasing traveller awareness with social media and physical signage in airports and the distribution of materials specifically targeting the feed industry; and
  • The CFIA is leading the planning of an international Forum on ASF, scheduled for April, 2019.  This is a collaborative effort, with both government and industry participation from Canada, the US and Mexico.

Bovine tuberculosis in British Columbia (bovine TB)

In November 2018, the CFIA announced that it was launching an investigation into a case of bovine TB in British Columbia following detection in a beef cow that was presented for slaughter at a federally registered facility. Disease response is well underway but can take an extended period of time (approximately one to two years) for this disease. While Canada is considered to be officially free of bovine TB today, isolated cases do occur. There is no risk to the food supply or to human health due to the comprehensive meat inspection system and milk pasteurization in Canada. The CFIA is continuing to work closely with the producers, industry associations, and provincial and federal agricultural and health authorities throughout the investigation. Regular updates are published on the CFIA website.

Next steps:

• Completing the bovine TB investigation requires a long-term Agency response, including:
  • Complete testing of at-risk herds that have been identified to date
  • Continue tracing animal movements into the infected herd to identify the potential source herd for the infection
  • Engage with targeted stakeholders for input on the potential application of the existing policy option which has not been previously used to full depopulation of the infected index herd to eliminate infection
  • Collaborate with the province of British Columbia on consideration of a potential wildlife surveillance plan around the infected herd
  • Continue to keep the president, ministers' offices, local MPs and MLAs, local First Nation communities, stakeholders and PCO up to date on the investigation.

Humane transportation

The CFIA has the regulatory authority, under the Health of Animals Regulations, for the humane transportation of all animals transported into, out of, or within Canada. Following several years of extensive consultations with stakeholders, the CFIA is proposing amendments to Part XII of the Health of Animals Regulations. These proposed amendments will modernize the animal transport regulations in order to better align with international standards, best industry practices, and current scientific knowledge regarding animal welfare during transportation. On December 3, 2016, the proposed amendments were published in Part I of the Canada Gazette. Publication of the adjusted regulatory amendments in Canada Gazette, Part II occurred on February 20, 2019.

Hatchery Regulations

These proposed amendments to the Hatchery Regulations would replace and repeal the Hatchery Regulations, the Hatchery Exclusion Regulations, and parts of the Health of Animals Regulations by consolidating the requirements for operating licensed poultry hatchery establishments in Canada into a single part of the Health of Animals Regulations, under the Health of Animals Act. The regulatory proposal would also result in a modern, outcome-based regulatory framework that would allow the CFIA and the hatchery sector to keep pace with advances in science and technology; enable appropriate monitoring and controls for current, emerging and future pathogenic organisms of concern; and facilitate international trade. [Redacted text].

Feed regulatory modernization

The CFIA's feed regulatory framework has been identified as a modernization priority given that the last comprehensive renewal of the Feeds Regulations occurred in 1983. The CFIA initiated a comprehensive review of the Feeds Regulations in 2012. As part of its on-going regulatory development and consultation processes, over the past 18 months the CFIA posted a number of proposals related to maximum nutrient values and maximum contaminant levels in feed for public review and comment. The CFIA has reviewed and assessed stakeholder responses from the commercial feed industry, ingredient suppliers, livestock producers, academia and FPT governments. Summary reports of the consultations have been published on the CFIA website. The next major consultation will take place following pre-publication of the formal regulatory proposal in the Canada Gazette, Part I [Redacted text].

Salmonella has been included in the scope of the consultation concerning contaminant standards for biological hazards in feed. Salmonella, one of the most significant bacterial pathogens of public and animal health concern that can be transmitted in livestock feeds, has been of particular interest to the feed industry. Industry has been calling on the CFIA to reconsider the longstanding policy regarding the interpretation of compliance and the enforcement measures required in cases where Salmonella contamination of feed is detected. In response to comments received during the consultation, the CFIA will establish an outcome-based standard for Salmonella that will be added directly to the Feeds Regulations, indicating that feeds shall not contain Salmonella that is likely to be deleterious to livestock or present a risk to human health. Dialogue with industry is on-going and supporting policy/industry guidance is being prepared by the CFIA and will be shared with stakeholders for review and comment in the lead up to the pre-publication of the proposed amended regulations.

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) program changes

CWD is a progressive, fatal disease that affects the central nervous system of both captive and wild North American cervids (deer, elk, etc.). While there is no evidence to suggest that the disease can be transmitted to humans, it is not recommended that humans use or eat any tissue which may have come from an infected animal.

CWD is currently endemic in Saskatchewan and parts of Alberta. Efforts to make changes to the CWD program began in 2012 when the CFIA concluded that efforts to eradicate CWD (depopulation with associated compensation) were ineffective. [Redacted text].

On April 1, 2018, changes to the CFIA program were implemented; producers that are not taking preventive measures through enrollment in the Voluntary Herd Certification Program (VHCP) are no longer eligible for CFIA response and associated compensation if their herds become infected.

[Redacted paragraph].

On September 10, 2018, a farmed cervid in Quebec was confirmed to be positive for CWD, representing the first case of CWD in Eastern Canada. The CFIA engaged with both the Quebec Ministre des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs (MFFP) and the Ministère de l'Agriculture, des Pêcheries et de l'Alimentation du Québec to implement an aggressive multi-pronged response in both the farmed deer and the surrounding wild deer in an attempt to eradicate this first incursion from the Province of Quebec. Depopulation on the premises is complete.

Animal Health Canada

In 2018, industry formally proposed a Federal-Provincial-Territorial-industry partnership with Animal Health Canada (AHC), to leverage combined resources to strengthen and enhance readiness for animal health related issues in Canada. AHC proposes to cover risk management in animal disease prevention, preparedness, and response in Canada. Industry, under the leadership of the National Farmed Animal Health and Welfare Council (NFAHWC), engaged with the CFIA and AAFC on this proposal. Both the CFIA and AAFC are supportive and have allocated human resources to assist with further development of the proposal via an Animal Health Canada Working Group under the NFAHWC. Certain aspects of the AHC model are being tested.

Next steps:

• The federal government has established a partnership with industry and provincial/territorial governments.
• A Champions Committee is being established at the CEO level, including a request for the involvement of the CFIA President and AAFC Deputy Minister.
• An ADM-level group with representation from the three partners has been established with CFIA representation and a face-to-face meeting of this group was held in for Toronto on February 19, 2019.
• Discussions are also taking place between AAFC and the CFIA on this issue and the initiative was discussed at an FPT Associate Deputy Ministers of Agriculture meeting in January 2019, and is on the agenda for the Deputy Ministers of Agriculture meeting. Industry's objective is to present a proposal to the Minsters of Agriculture in July 2019.

Application for negligible risk status for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE)

BSE is a progressive, fatal disease of the nervous system of cattle that is associated with the presence of an abnormal protein called a prion. When Canada discovered its first domestic case of BSE in 2003, borders were immediately closed for Canadian cattle, sheep, goats, and bison, as well as products from these animals. Program initiatives were put in place to manage risks to human health, animal health, and market access.

The World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH) evaluates countries and assigns them one of three categories of risk for BSE: negligible, controlled or undetermined. Under the WOAH criteria, a country can be categorized as having a "negligible BSE risk" if it has never had a case of BSE in a domestic animal, or if any infected domestic animals were born more than 11 years ago. Canada has held controlled status since it was first evaluated by the WOAH. Once Canada achieves negligible risk for BSE, it would be unlikely that Canada would modify any of the BSE controls presently in place, however there would be an opportunity to gain additional export markets. The first date of the WOAH review cycle that Canada could apply for negligible risk status is July of 2020. CFIA staff is working to collect and analyze data in order to put the best possible submission forward at that time. There is no guarantee that the negligible risk status will be granted.

Plant health

Fertilizers Regulations

Amendments to the Rertilizers Regulations are being proposed to introduce a risk-based approach focusing on strengthening regulatory controls for product safety, environmental sustainability, and consumer protection. The regulatory package was approved by Treasury Board on November 29, 2018 and pre-published in CGI on December 8th. The 75-day comment period closed February 21, 2019. There was significant outreach with industry during the comment period.

Next steps:

• Comments will be compiled and a 'what we heard' report developed.
• [Redacted text]

Joint AAFC/CFIA consultation on proposed amendments to the Plant Breeders' Rights (PBR) Regulations

General support has been received from stakeholders, including the producer community, seed industry, seed growers, and the PBR advisory committee, to advance consultations on proposals that will inform possible amendments to the PBR Regulations. These changes have the potential to encourage greater investment and innovation in the Canadian cereals sector (wheat, barley, and oats), known as "Value Creation". Although many farm organizations are supportive of advancing these consultations, it is expected that the National Farmers Union (NFU) and the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission (SWDC) will be opposed. These two organizations hold the position that only the public sector (AAFC and agriculture universities) should be releasing new seed varieties, excluding private sector participation/investment. From Nov 2018 to Jan 2019, joint AAFC/CFIA face-to-face consultation sessions have been held in Edmonton, Saskatoon, Winnipeg, Ottawa, and Charlottetown. Additionally, AAFC/CFIA officials have presented the concepts at several producer events in Jan/Feb 2019 (i.e. Crop Sphere, Ag Days, Farm Tech, Crop Connect).

Next steps:

• Mar 2019 – online public consultation.
• April 2019 – possible additional face-to-face sessions planned (e.g. Winnipeg, Regina, Lethbridge/Medicine Hat, Ottawa)

Canadian plant health council

The multi-partner Canadian plant health council (FPT governments, industry and academia) established in October 2018 continues to focus their efforts in developing a two year work plan for implementation of plant health focused activities from the plant and animal health strategy for Canada. Bill Anderson, as the Chief Plant Health Officer for Canada, represents the CFIA on the council. Rebecca Lee, Executive Director of the Canadian Horticultural Council and David Feindel, Director of Plant and Bee Health Surveillance of the Alberta Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry have been selected as co-chairs – demonstrating partnership in action.

Through a prioritization process of potential activities, council reached consensus on three themes and developed draft project proposals for further work plan development: surveillance, emergency response management, and biosecurity.

Next steps:

• Three multi-partner working groups for each theme have begun work to refine the project proposals with the aim to provide the Council with concrete recommendations for two-year work plan deliverables by the end of March 2019.
• It is anticipated that a progress update will be provided to FPT ministers of agriculture during their annual conference in July 2019.

International affairs

International strategic plan (ISP)

The International Affairs Branch (IAB) has developed an international strategic plan (ISP) for areas under the Agency's mandate, which includes agriculture and agri-food, aquatic animals including fish and seafood products, forestry and forestry products, and horticulture. In addition to other government departments such as Global Affairs Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the ISP has also been consulted with key health and agriculture portfolio partners, including Agriculture and Agri-Foods Canada, Health Canada, and the Public Health Agency of Canada. The ISP aligns with the programme inventory of the Departmental Plan.

Next steps:

• pursue early discussions with the president's office to ensure the ISP priorities and objectives align with the president's vision and plan for the branch's approach to an international strategy for agriculture and agri-food and other areas under the agency's mandate.
• Commence governance approvals within the first quarter of FY 2019-2020.

For specific market access files, a separate briefing will be scheduled.