Executive summary of the import task team final report
Seed regulatory modernization

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is committed to a full-scale review of the following parts of the Seeds Regulations:

• Part I - Seeds other than Seed Potatoes
• Part II - Seed Potatoes
• Part III - Variety Registration
• Part IV - Registration of Establishments that Prepare Seed and Licensing of Operators

The objective of the Import task team was to provide recommendations in a report to the seed regulatory modernization working group on opportunities for improvement with respect to how the Seeds Regulations govern seed imported into Canada.

The Seeds Act and Seeds Regulations have undergone periodic amendments and modernizations since the first laws were established in 1905. During this current initiative, the CFIA is looking to update the Seeds Regulations to:

• improve responsiveness and consistency
• reduce complexity
• be adaptable and flexible to address future technical advances and scientific innovation
• protect producers and consumers by strengthening existing requirements

Imported seed may serve as a potential pathway to introduce harmful or invasive weed seeds and other pests when imported into Canada. The Seeds Regulations prescribe the requirements and exemptions for seed imported into and sold in Canada, including: information; remaining separate and intact; acceptable laboratories and methods of testing seed; minimum standards; grading; labelling; registered varieties; and movement restrictions into the provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, those parts of British Columbia known as the Peace River District and the Creston-Wynndell Area defined as the Canadian Wheat Board Area in the Seeds Regulations. Currently, seed imported into Canada is not required to be pre-cleared like other commodities prior to being released by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA). When seed has not been pre-cleared or exempt under subsection 40(5), Seeds Regulations, the CBSA will release seed into Canada but the imported seed lot is still required to be cleared by the CFIA import conformity assessment (ICA) office or an authorized importer (AI) after entry.

The complexity of the current system, timeliness to clear imported seed lots, access to foreign varieties, lack of flexibility and the inability to adapt standards and requirements quickly to industry changes has been identified as challenges to stakeholders. Based on the initial topics suggested by the seed regulatory modernization working group (Seed-RM WG), the task team presented a work plan for the analysis and discussion of the following 5 topics:

• Big picture - Should seed continue to be allowed to be cleared after being imported into Canada?
• Variety registration import exemptions
• Minimum seed standards for import
• Authorized importer program
• Certification of pedigreed seed imported into Canada

The task team focused on 3 major opportunities for improvement:

• Refine the import process to efficiently clear seed to ensure that standards and requirements will be effective and meaningful when seed is imported into Canada
• Increase compliance, including knowledge and awareness, of the standards and requirements for clearing seed imported into Canada
• Ability to adapt the standards and requirements to changes within the seed sector, including technology, if required

The task team discussed multiple options considering the pros/benefits and cons/risks of each possible option prior to providing recommendations on each topic. In expressing the final recommendation results, the concept of a qualified consensus represents the threshold for agreement by the group. The term 'qualified consensus' is a majority of the members from each stakeholder group (i.e., regulated members and impacted/implicated members) agreed upon the recommendation.

Each task team topic report submitted to the Seed-RM WG is available in the import task team final report. A total of 29 options were proposed and discussed by the task team which generated 14 recommendations being presented to the Seed-RM WG:

Topic 1 – Big picture: Should seed continue to be allowed to be cleared after being imported into Canada?

• There was a qualified consensus by the task team to recommend option 2 where all seed lots imported into Canada must be pre-cleared with the exemption of seed imported by an authorized importer (AI) who would be able to continue to pre-clear and post-clear imported seed
• The task team recommends to further explore digitalizing the import process for all seed imported into Canada

Topic 2 – Variety registration import exemptions

• There was a qualified consensus that the term 'research' should be further defined to provide clarity to this specific end use when importing seed of unregistered varieties of Schedule III crop kinds, types and species into Canada
• The task team members reached a qualified consensus to recommend option 1 to maintain the current unregistered variety exemptions for seed lots imported into Canada
• There was a qualified consensus from the task team members recommending a broad based consultation before removing the seeding by importer variety registration exemption from the Seeds Regulations

Topic 3 – Minimum seed standards for import

• The task team reached a qualified consensus to recommend option 2 where small lots of seed imports for own-use (i.e., seeding by the importer) must meet the purity standards at the time of importation and maintain the small lot exemption for research, conditioning, sale pursuant to subsection 5(4), etc. or if the small seed lot is imported by an authorized importer. The majority of the regulated members would further support recommending the following 2 options in addition to option 2 as they were not mutually exclusive:
  • Option 4 to maintain the purity standard, eliminate germination standard requirement for seed to be imported into Canada
  • Option 5 where the minimum standards to import seed into Canada should be in an ambulatory incorporated by reference (IBR) document where the CFIA is responsible (i.e., 'holds the pen')
• The task team recommends that the CFIA plant protection division should further discuss aligning the prohibited noxious weed seeds with the list of regulated plant pests in Canada to determine what would be the risk(s) of classifying the remaining prohibited noxious weed seeds as regulated plant pest in Canada
• The seed testing requirements should be clarified if seed imported into Canada should meet the same sizes for impurities as per the Canadian methods and procedures for testing seed (M&P) in the Seeds Regulations when clearing seed into Canada

Topic 4 – Authorized importer program

• The task team members reached a qualified consensus to recommend both option 1 to maintain the current authorized importer (AI) program, scope and requirements to import seed into Canada and option 2 to allow for accredited seed labs or independent companies to become an authorized importer to offer third party pre-clearance services to non-AIs by removing the storage capacity requirement for pre-clearing imported seed lots
• From the task team discussion, there was a qualified consensus to recommend the promotion of the AI program for importers to become an AI and promote the ability for non-AIs to use pre-clearance services offered by an AI
• The task team reached a qualified consensus for the CFIA to further explore digitalizing information to improve the AI program
• The task team also reached a qualified consensus from the discussion to recommend incorporating by reference (ambulatory) the requirements in subsection 40(6) into a document where the CFIA holds the pen

Topic 5 – Certification of pedigreed seed imported into Canada

• The task team members reached a qualified consensus to recommending the following options:
  • Option 1 to maintain the current system for certifying pedigreed seed imported into Canada
  • Option 2 to expand the recognition of official foreign seed laboratories based on stakeholder requirements to expedite grading of pedigreed seed
  • Option 3 to expand the foreign recognized grader program outside of the United States based on stakeholder requirements to further expedite grading of pedigreed seed
• For options 2 and 3, the task team reached a qualified consensus that the requirements must be adequate to evaluate and oversee (i.e., have checks in place) to officially recognize a foreign seed laboratory and a foreign grader to Canadian standards and requirements to ensure the requirements are similar to officially recognized domestic seed laboratories and accredited graders