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Section II — Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

Section II provides more detailed information about the Agency’s program activities and strategies to achieve expected results. This information is organized according to strategic outcome. For each strategic outcome, this section includes details on what the Agency is doing and plans to do to meet its priorities, mitigate strategic risks, and move toward achieving its strategic outcomes and, ultimately, fulfilling its mandate.

2.1 Strategic Outcome: Public health risks associated with the food supply and transmission of animal diseases to humans are minimized and managed

GoC Outcome	Healthy Canadians
CFIA Strategic Outcome	Public health risks associated with the food supply and transmission of animal diseases to humans are minimized and managed
Expected Results	Risks associated with food, including nutrition, are managed within acceptable limits	Risks of the transmission of animal diseases to humans are managed within acceptable limits
Program Activities	Food Safety and Nutrition Risks	Zoonotic Risk
Key Strategic Risks	Foodborne Hazards	Zoonotic Outbreaks / Incidents
Priorities	Enhancing regulatory compliance, with a focus on safety of domestic and imported food	Strengthening preparedness to mitigate and respond to animal and plant diseases and pests
Strategies	• Improving and modernizing inspections approaches • Maintaining capacity to predict and respond to emergencies • Carrying out education and outreach activities	• Conducting disease surveillance, detection and control activities; and • Collaborating with partners to enhance program and regulatory frameworks
SO1 Strategic Planning Framework

Protecting human health is the highest priority for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA ). As a key contributor to the Government of Canada’s integrated approach to population health, the CFIA , in partnership with others, protects Canadians from preventable health risks related to unsafe food. Such health risks may be caused by pathogens, undeclared allergens, chemical contaminants or by animal diseases that have the potential to be transmissible to humans, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and avian influenza. Additionally, the CFIA contributes to the health of Canadians by ensuring that consumers have appropriate information on which to make safe and healthy food choices.

Key risks to the CFIA’s capacity to achieve this strategic outcome are: foodborne hazards and zoonotic outbreaks/incidents. In order to mitigate these risks, the Agency will concentrate its efforts on the delivery of the following priorities:

enhancing regulatory compliance, with a focus on safety of domestic and imported food;and
strengthening preparedness to mitigate and respond to animal and plant diseases and pests.

The key strategies are presented, per the CFIA’s Program Activity Architecture (PAA), under two program activities:

Food Safety and Nutrition Risks, and
Zoonotic Risk.

These key strategies and the planned activities that support them are described in the following sections 2.1a and 2.1b.

2.1a Program Activity: Food Safety and Nutrition Risks

Food safety and nutrition risk management programming works with federal, provincial and municipal partners and organizations to improve the overall health of Canadians. A primary contribution to this effort is in minimizing and managing risks, and deliberate threats, to food and food production systems. Consumers are also provided with appropriate information on which to base safe and nutritious food choices. We achieve this by developing and delivering programs designed to verify that food safety and nutrition information is accurate. Programs and services are developed and delivered to protect Canadians from preventable food safety hazards, by managing food safety emergencies effectively, and supporting public awareness of, and the contribution to, food safety in imported and domestic food.

Expected Result: Risks associated with food, including nutrition, are managed within acceptable limits¹¹
Performance Indicators	Targets
Extent to which inspected federally-registered establishments comply with federal food safety requirements	≥ 98 per cent compliance
Extent to which domestic and imported food products comply with federal chemical residue requirements	≥ 95 per cent compliance
Time taken to issue public warnings for Class I recalls	100 per cent of Class I recalls are issued within 24 hours of a recall decision
Extent to which food packaging inspected for nutrition labelling displays nutrition information¹²	≥ 80 per cent of food packaging inspected for nutrition labelling includes nutrition information

Financial Resources ($ millions)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
260.9	254.2	254.8

Human Resources (FTEs)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
3,014	2,995	2,995

¹¹ Acceptable limits are currently being defined in terms of established performance indicators. The CFIA is undertaking an extensive exercise to review all of its indicators to ensure that they are fair, reliable and valid measures that comprehensively capture the extent to which the Agency has achieved its expected results.

¹² For this fiscal year, the CFIA is concentrating its efforts on ensuring that nutrition labels are displayed. In future years, it will be concentrating on the accuracy and comprehensiveness of the labels.

Risk Context

Foodborne Hazards — Canadians have access to a food supply that is safe and nutritious. The CFIA and its regulatory partners, industry and consumer groups have worked to significantly reduce the threat of foodborne hazards in Canada; however, the risk that such illness will arise always remains. The CFIA and co-operating jurisdictions must continue to improve the capacity and capability to detect, track and mitigate risks associated with diseases, pathogens, toxins, chemical contaminants and other health hazards in the registered and non-federally registered food sectors.

Strategies for mitigating risks and achieving expected results

Risks to food safety are diverse and complex. Significant hazards that can affect human health may be introduced at any point along the food continuum — from production (including fertilizer application), to processing, to transportation and through the practices consumers follow in handling and preparing food. Today the food continuum is even more complex, with global production and processing systems using ingredients that have been sourced through global supply chains.

The CFIA employs the following three strategies under this program activity to mitigate the identified risks and achieve the expected result:

Strategy One: Improving and modernizing inspection approaches;
Strategy Two: Maintaining capacity to predict and respond to emergencies; and
Strategy Three: Carrying out education and outreach activities.

Strategy One: Improving and modernizing inspection approaches

In order to advance Strategy One, in 2008–09, the CFIA will:

with its government partners, develop and initiate implementation of the Government of Canada’s proposed Food Safety Action Plan¹³, which aims to:
- prevent problems by addressing safety along the food continuum — options will be considered to broaden the coverage of potentially unsafe food imports, enhance authority to require industry to implement food safety controls to prevent problems, and create a specific prohibition against tampering with food;
- enhance targeted oversight — options will be considered to strengthen the Government’s authority to verify the safety of food at all points in the food continuum, including prior to importation into Canada; and
- support rapid response — options will be considered to provide new authority to require adequate records be kept by those who handle food, strengthen access to the information that is needed in order to effectively respond to identified problems, and modernize and streamline inspection systems;
continue to promote the acceptance and implementation of Good Importing Practices by industry;
assemble a team and develop an overall food safety research plan under the Food Safety Research Strategy, which will support the CFIA in achieving its regulatory responsibilities through coordinated food safety research and development activities. The acquisition of knowledge through research will facilitate development of new policies and decision-making for food safety;
encourage industry to maximize its role in the food safety system and to take a more hands-on approach in satisfying its responsibility for meeting regulatory requirements. Industry will be encouraged to develop and implement quality management systems and self-monitor its performance on an ongoing basis; a summary of quality management systems is shown in the Learn About…Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points text box below; and
continue advancing a key inspection initiative, Meat Inspection Reform (MIR), which is part of the government-wide priority linked to modernization of the regulatory framework. In 2008–09, the CFIA plans to finalize consultative activities on the Canadian Meat Hygiene Standard (CMHS) and supporting assessment criteria; commence amendments to the Meat Inspection Regulations; verify and validate tasks, policies and procedures under the Compliance Verification System, which is a regulatory systems approach to inspection that supports moving industry towards a more scientific, risk-based system (HACCP implementation); consult on the final Poultry Rejection Policy (PRP), develop and implement a training strategy and target establishment implementation of the policy; and complete implementation of the Modernization of Poultry Inspection Program (MPIP).

¹³ For more information on the Government of Canada’s proposed Food Safety Action Plan, visit http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca

Learn About …
MEAT INSPECTION REFORM (MIR)

The objective of MIR is to bring consistency to meat inspection across Canada, enhance the safety and suitability of domestically produced meat and poultry products, to sustain consumer confidence and to provide a sound regulatory base for industry and effective use of resources for inspection program delivery. MIR has expanded beyond reforms to existing federal programs to include the development of a single meat and poultry products standard for Canada — the Canadian Meat Hygiene Standard (CMHS) — developed to provide a general, outcome-based framework for the production of safe and suitable meat and poultry products in Canada. The standard may be used as a template by provinces and territories, providing an opportunity to update their meat inspection regulations to be aligned with federal Meat Inspection Regulations.

Learn About …
HAZARD ANALYSIS CRITICAL CONTROL POINTS

The Food Safety Enhancement Program (FSEP) is the CFIA’s approach to encourage and support the development, implementation and maintenance of HACCP systems in all federally registered establishments. HACCP implementation is mandatory for the meat slaughter and processing industry and is voluntary for other federally registered establishments, including processed products, egg, dairy and honey. This system is designed to help processors meet food safety standards by implementing processing controls throughout production, thus preventing food safety hazards from occurring. In 2008–09, the FSEP will be reviewed to make it less prescriptive and more customized towards each commodity group. This process will make it more practical for industry to move forward in the development and implementation of its HACCP systems.
Producing safe agricultural products and protecting them from on-farm hazards is the primary focus of industry-developed On-Farm Food Safety (OFFS) programs based on HACCP. The CFIA will continue working with the provinces and territories on the OFFS Recognition Program, which formally recognizes OFFS programs developed by national producer organizations. Government recognition of HACCP-based OFFS programs may enhance Canada’s domestic and international reputation as a leader in food safety and quality, which could result in expanded markets for Canadian products.
The Quality Management Program (QMP) is a regulatory-based system that requires all federally registered fish processing plants in Canada to develop and implement an in-plant quality control program. The QMP uses the principles of HACCP to provide a high level of assurance that fish and seafood products produced in Canada are safe and wholesome to eat. The QMP also deals with non-safety issues, including fish quality and federal regulatory requirements such as labelling.

Note: Meat Inspection Reform, Good Importing Practices and HACCP initiatives also support section 2.3b Domestic and International Market Access.

Strategy Two: Maintaining capacity to predict and respond to emergencies

In order to advance Strategy Two, in 2008–09, the CFIA will:

continue to issue public warnings within 24 hours of Class I recall decisions — one of the key measures that the CFIA uses to assess its performance in managing food safety risks is the time it takes to respond to situations requiring a Class I recall. A Class I recall is carried out when there is a reasonable probability (as determined through a risk assessment) that the use of, or exposure to, a food product in violation of standards will cause serious adverse health consequences or death. Once an assessment has been received that indicates there is a risk to the public and a Class I recall is warranted, the CFIA issues a public warning within 24 hours of the recall decision;
develop an action plan to enhance the food safety system, in particular as it relates to foodborne illness investigation and response; and
continue to work within the context of the Government of Canada’s Public Security and Anti-Terrorism (PSAT) initiative to prepare for and respond to food safety threats and incidents. In 2008–09, the CFIA will maintain its capacity to respond to emergencies by strengthening surveillance, detection, science, and laboratory capacity. The CFIA will continue to evaluate alternative methodology to reduce testing time; update and exercise response plans; respond to outbreaks of foodborne illness; and have systems in place to respond to emergencies such as disease outbreaks. (PSAT also supports section 2.2 Strategic Outcome: A safe and sustainable plant and animal resource base).

Strategy Three: Carrying out education and outreach activities

In order to advance Strategy Three, in 2008–09, CFIA will:

launch an advertising campaign to increase awareness of and promote CFIA’s food recall system and advisory services to Canadians;
continue the outreach campaign to international travellers to raise awareness of the need to declare all food, plants and animals when returning to Canada;
develop food safety-related communications, including print publications and website updates to provide information and educational materials on food safety risks and measures;
advance food safety displays in public fairs and exhibitions targeting consumers and food industry; and
recognizing that more and more consumers are using food labelling as a source of information to help them make healthy food choices, the CFIA will continue to work with Health Canada on the Labelling as a Public Health Tool policy framework to support regulatory initiatives such as nutrition labelling, discretionary food fortification, allergen labelling, and safe handling and cooking labelling. The time frame for full implementation is five years as remaining related regulations are promulgated. During this five-year period, the CFIA will work with Health Canada to develop and implement a staged compliance strategy; develop an effective compliance and enforcement approach to mandatory allergen labelling; further implement the nutrition labelling regulations and monitor compliance on a risk-based priority and sectoral approach; train inspection and headquarters staff on the interpretation and enforcement of the regulations; and develop and disseminate plain language and interpretive documents to help industry understand and comply with the regulations.

2.1b Program Activity: Zoonotic Risk

Zoonotic risk programs work with federal and provincial partners and organizations to improve the overall health of Canadians. A primary contribution to this effort is in protecting Canadians from the spread of diseases transmissible, or potentially transmissible, from animal populations to humans. Zoonotic risks are managed and minimized through the development and delivery of programs and services focused on the animal health aspect and designed to help prevent and control the spread of zoonotic diseases, support public awareness, conduct inspections, and monitor and test.

Expected Result: Risks of the transmission of animal diseases to humans are managed within acceptable limits.¹⁴
Performance Indicators	Targets
Number of incidents of avian influenza that expand beyond the initial control zone	No expansion of the disease beyond the initial control zone

Financial Resources ($ millions)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
126.1	101.6	102.0

Human Resources (FTEs)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
913	821	821

¹⁴ Acceptable limits are currently being defined in terms of established performance indicators. The CFIA is undertaking an extensive exercise to review all of its indicators to ensure that they are fair, reliable and valid measures that comprehensively capture the extent to which the Agency has achieved its expected results.

Risk Context

Zoonotic Outbreaks/Incidents — Animals, both domestic and wild, can potentially transmit disease-causing agents to humans. BSE, avian influenza, the spread of West Nile virus and the detection of new strains of rabies are examples of the potential for diseases of animal origin that could affect public health. The CFIA’s science, program and regulatory frameworks must keep pace with existing and emerging disease threats.

Strategies for mitigating risks and achieving expected results

The CFIA employs the following two strategies under this program activity to mitigate the identified risks and achieve the expected result:

Strategy One: Conducting disease surveillance, detection and control activities; and
Strategy Two: Collaborating with partners to enhance program and regulatory frameworks.

Strategy One: Conducting surveillance, detection and control activities

In order to advance Strategy One, in 2008–09, CFIA will:

establish electronic links with the Public Health Laboratory Network and the U.S. Animal Health Laboratory Network to collect data in real time for direct input to the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance Network (CAHSN); and
continue working toward a national early warning system for animal disease threats to the food supply, food safety or public health; a federal-provincial laboratory network for the rapid diagnosis of serious infectious animal diseases; and an information-sharing network linking federal and provincial agencies and departments of animal and human health.

Learn About…
CANADIAN ANIMAL HEALTH SURVEILLANCE NETWORK (CAHSN)

The CFIA’s surveillance activities are supported by a nationwide network known as the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance Network (CAHSN), which draws on the disease detection capabilities of practising veterinarians, provincial and university diagnostic laboratories and the federal government.

The CAHSN focuses on early detection of animal disease threats that could have zoonotic potential in order to provide a rapid response to minimize the human health and economic risks to Canada. Surveillance data received from many sources is combined and simultaneously alerts both human and animal health authorities in other jurisdictions within Canada when potential animal disease threats are identified.

Strategy Two: Collaborating with partners to enhance program and regulatory frameworks

In order to advance Strategy Two, in 2008–09, CFIA will:

in collaboration with federal and provincial partners, international trading partners, international standard-setting bodies, the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency (CCIA), and regulated parties, continue to work towards the eradication of BSE from the national cattle herd by putting in place measures that are science-based and internationally recognized as effective ways to prevent BSE transmission and by undertaking a review of the CFIA’s BSE surveillance activities to ensure that they continue to meet the OIE requirements in a cost effective manner; and
in collaboration with the Public Health Agency of Canada, Public Safety Canada, Environment Canada, and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research, continue to advance work under the Avian and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Strategy to provide Canadian leadership on animal and public health issues. Investments will focus on collaborative surveillance design for early detection of avian influenza through migratory bird assessments and targeted sampling of domestic populations.

Learn About…
BSE RISK STATUS

In 2006, the OIE established a new process to assign BSE risk status to member countries based primarily on the strength of three program elements: import controls; feed ban; and surveillance. The integrity and quality of Canada’s surveillance efforts have been critical to the OIE’s recommendation in 2007 that Canada be considered “controlled risk” for BSE. Annual OIE reassessment of BSE programs will be required to retain “controlled risk” status, and rigorous surveillance data will be required to demonstrate the effectiveness of the Enhanced Feed Ban (See section 2.2a Animal Health Risks and Production Systems for more information) in accelerating the eradication of BSE.

Learn About…
AVIAN INFLUENZA (AI): POTENTIAL THREATS

Canada faces two major, interrelated animal and public health threats with respect to avian influenza. The first is the possibility that the highly pathogenic H5N1 Asian sub-type of avian influenza will spread to wild birds and domestic fowl, which would severely impact Canada’s poultry industry and other sectors. The second, far more troubling threat is the potential for a human pandemic influenza caused by a mutation of H5N1 or other viruses.

For more information on the CFIA’s AI programming, visit: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/avflu/avflue.shtml

2.2 Strategic Outcome: A safe and sustainable plant and animal resource base

GoC Outcome	Strong Economic Growth			A Clean and Healthy Environment
CFIA Strategic Outcome	A safe and sustainable plant and animal resource base
Expected Results	Risks to the animal resource base are managed within acceptable limits		Risks to the plant resource base are managed within acceptable limits		Risks to biodiversity within the animal and plant resource base are managed within acceptable limits
Program Activities	Animal Health Risks and Production Systems		Plant Health Risks and Production Systems		Biodiversity Protection
Key Strategic Risks	Animal Disease Hazards	Science and Technology Capacity	Plant Pest Hazards	Science and Technology Capacity	Animal Disease and Plant Pest Hazards	Science and Technology Capacity
Priorities	Strengthening preparedness to mitigate and respond to animal and plant diseases and pests
Strategies	• Conducting animal disease surveillance, detection and control activities; and • Collaborating with partners and stakeholders to enhance program and regulatory frameworks		• Conducting plant disease surveillance, detection and control activities • Collaborating with partners and stakeholders to enhance proram and regulatory frameworks		• Preventing the spread of invasive alien species and assessing agricultural products for safety and efficacy; and • Collaborating with partners and stakeholders to enhance program and regulatory frameworks
SO 2 Strategic Planning Framework

The Government of Canada recognizes that our traditional industries such as agriculture and forestry have long been anchors of our nation’s economic and social well-being. In support of maintaining the integrity and viability of these key sectors, the Government has announced, among its priority commitments, its intention to provide for a prosperous future and to improve and protect the environment.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s (CFIA ) contribution to these Government priorities is focused on the promotion of a safe and sustainable plant and animal resource base. This entails protecting Canada’s crops, forests, livestock, aquatic animals and biodiversity from regulated pests and diseases; preventing the introduction of undesirable or dangerous substances into human food through animal and plant production systems by way of animal feeds, seeds, fertilizers and supplements; and assessing the environmental sustainability of new products derived through enabling technologies, such as biotechnology.

Key risks to the CFIA’s capacity to achieve this strategic outcome are: animal and plant pest hazards and science and technology capacity. In order to mitigate these risks, the Agency will concentrate its efforts on the delivery of the following priority:

strengthening preparedness to mitigate and respond to animal and plant diseases and pests.

The key strategies are presented, per the CFIA’s Program Activity Architecture (PAA), under three program activities:

Animal Health Risks and Production Systems;
Plant Health Risks and Production Systems; and
Biodiversity Protection.

These key strategies and the planned activities that support them are described in the following sections 2.2a, 2.2b and 2.2c.

2.2a Program Activity: Animal Health Risks and Production Systems

Protecting the animal resource base is integral to the Canadian food supply and critical to the well-being of all Canadians. The CFIA’s animal heath risks and production systems programming plays an important role in minimizing and managing risk by protecting Canada’s animals (including livestock, aquatic species and wildlife) from regulated diseases and from deliberate threats to the resource base. Programs and services are designed to protect Canadian animal resources, feeds and animal products, as well as to manage animal disease emergencies effectively. Public confidence in animal health status, production systems, safety of animal products and their by-products is significantly enhanced by Canada’s reputation for effectively mitigating the risk of serious diseases.

Expected Result: Risks to the animal resource base are managed within acceptable limits¹⁵
Performance Indicators	Targets
Extent to which the CFIA’s data indicates that foreign regulated animal diseases have entered Canada via specified regulated pathways	No evidence (i.e. confirmed by the CFIA’s data) that foreign regulated animal diseases have entered into Canada through specified regulated pathways
Extent to which the CFIA’s data indicates the spread of foreign regulated animal diseases which entered into Canada this fiscal year¹⁶	No evidence of spread of foreign regulated animal diseases beyond the initial control zone
Extent to which renderers and feed mills inspected are without any major deviations with respect to the Feeds Regulations and the Health of Animals Regulations (Enhanced Feed Ban)	≥ 95 per cent compliance rate

Financial Resources ($ millions)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
74.7	70.8	71.0

Human Resources (FTEs)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
751	751	751

¹⁵ Acceptable limits are currently being defined in terms of established performance indicators. The CFIA is undertaking an extensive exercise to review all of its indicators to ensure that they are fair, reliable and valid measures that comprehensively capture the extent to which the Agency has achieved its expected results.

¹⁶ This indicator reflects only foreign animal diseases at this point. The CFIA also conducts a wide variety of activities with regard to animal diseases already established in Canada. Performance measures to illustrate performance in this regard will be developed and will be reported on in future years.

Risk Context

Animal Disease Hazards — A healthy and sustainable animal resource base in Canada is critical to the environmental objectives and the economy. The CFIA , along with its partners, utilizes numerous measures to identify and reduce threats to the animal resource base, ranging from surveys and movement control to eradication and emergency response. The numerous possible pathways for entry of animal diseases into Canada, together with the potential environmental impact, and to some degree social and/or economic impact of a major animal disease outbreak, make this a significant challenge that must continue to be actively addressed by the CFIA .

Science and Technology Capacity — Trade globalization has amplified the number, scope and sophistication of organizations subject to CFIA inspections. Additionally, globalization has resulted in more commodities from higher-risk markets being imported into Canada, thereby increasing Canada’s exposure to contamination and increasing the introduction of new vectors for disease transmission. The CFIA’s science and technology capacity must keep pace with these considerations in order to adequately conduct its compliance and enforcement activities to protect the animal resource base.

Strategies for mitigating risks and achieving expected results

Canada’s ability to market animals, animal products and by-products, and livestock feed depends on its freedom from serious zoonotic diseases. It also depends on maintaining the confidence of consumers and international officials in Canada’s commitment to protecting the health of animals, humans and the ecosystem.

The CFIA’s animal health and livestock feed programming is instrumental in helping the CFIA to protect the health of animals and the integrity of the food chain. Ongoing activities to advance these efforts include research in support of program/policy development and decision making; regular monitoring, inspection and testing of imported animals; disease control and eradication activities; and, administration of a national inspection program for feed.

The CFIA employs the following two strategies under this program activity to mitigate the identified risks and achieve the expected result:

Strategy One: Conducting animal disease surveillance, detection and control activities; and
Strategy Two: Collaborating with partners and stakeholders to enhance program and regulatory frameworks.

Strategy One: Conducting animal disease surveillance, detection and control activities

In order to advance Strategy One, in 2008–09, the CFIA will:

continue recruiting, hiring and training veterinarians for the Canadian Veterinary Reserve, a program which aims to provide Canada with the surge capacity, expertise and rapid response capability required to continue to respond to domestic incidents while providing assistance to other countries during international disease-control efforts;
continue partnering efforts with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the Canadian Wildlife Service to establish networks of experts in various fora to ensure timely detection of and response to emerging diseases;
identify areas for improvement to existing Foot-and-Mouth Disease emergency prevention, preparedness and response efforts and focus the risk-based action plan accordingly; and
establish steering committees and conduct workshops with stakeholders to further develop the National Animal Health Strategy and related Animal Health Science Foresight (See Strategy Two for more information).

Learn About…
FOOT-AND-MOUTH DISEASE PREPAREDNESS STRATEGY

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD)¹⁷ is an extremely contagious viral disease that can affect cloven-hoofed animals such as cattle, hogs and sheep. An outbreak of FMD in Canada would result in substantial economic losses due to the cost of control measures, the loss of revenue in the trade of animals and animal products, and the negative impact on tourism. Most notably, international markets would close to Canadian animals and meat, the livelihood of producers and processors would be severely affected, and animals would need to be destroyed. Over the last several years, the CFIA has refined its plans and procedures related to FMD based on lessons learned and the experiences of other countries, such as the United Kingdom in 2001.

¹⁷ For more information on FMD, visit the CFIA’s FMD website at http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/anima/heasan/disemala/fmdfie/inf_e.shtml.

Learn About…
CANADIAN VETERINARY RESERVE

In November 2006, the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and Minister for the Canadian Wheat Board and the President of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association (CVMA), announced that a pool of private sector veterinarians would be established to assist governments in responding to animal health emergencies such as disease outbreaks or natural disasters.

The Canadian Veterinary Reserve (CVR) supplements existing response capabilities of federal and provincial governments and provides Canada with additional flexibility to increase its support for international animal disease control efforts.

The first phase of the CVR program focuses on providing a roster of private sector veterinarians who could be called upon to assist the CFIA on an as-needed basis to provide short term support in defined emergency situations, such as Avian Influenza, anywhere in Canada. In the future, the CVR could also provide vets in civil emergencies such as natural disasters and international crisis situations.

A recruitment campaign is currently in full swing, with a target to sign up 50 to 150 vets in this initial phase. The reserve is expected to grow to 300 to 500 over five years. Close to 100 CVR members have been trained by the CFIA in foreign animal disease response at the Agency’s National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease in Winnpeg, Manitoba.

Strategy Two: Collaborating with partners and stakeholders to enhance program and regulatory frameworks

In order to advance Strategy Two, in 2008–09, the CFIA will:

launch the National Animal Health Strategy in collaboration with industry and other federal partners, including Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Environment Canada, Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Parks Canada;
continue to work with federal, provincial and territorial departments responsible for wildlife, forests, fisheries and aquaculture to implement the National Wildlife Disease Strategy, which establishes a coordinated national policy and management framework to respond to and minimize the impacts of animal diseases originating in wildlife;
work with the provinces to verify compliance of establishments under provincial jurisdiction with the new requirements of the Enhanced Feed Ban;
continue to work with partners to develop the Avian and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Strategy — under this strategy, the CFIA is investing in seven areas to address avian and pandemic preparedness: vaccines and antivirals; surge capacity; prevention and early warning; emergency preparedness; critical science and regulation; risk communications; and federal/provincial/territorial (F/P/T) and international collaboration;
conduct a joint international avian and pandemic response exercise in cooperation with federal partners and in conjunction with Mexico and the U.S. as part of the North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza¹⁸; and
continue contributing to collaborative emergency preparedness research initiatives with the objective to prepare for potential animal disease outbreak emergencies.

¹⁸ North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza is available on the Internet at: http://www.spp.gov/pdf/nap_flu07.pdf

Learn About…
THE NATIONAL ANIMAL HEALTH STRATEGY AND ANIMAL HEALTH SCIENCE FORESIGHT

The CFIA is leading the development of an integrated National Animal Health Strategy (NAHS) to consolidate animal health risk management activities and approaches across the country. The NAHS will cover animal populations such as wildlife, farm animals, pets, aquatic animals, laboratory animals and zoo animals, and will focus on inclusive approaches to governance, accountability and investment on the part of federal, provincial and private sector stakeholders. It will also reflect advances in production systems and disease control approaches, and will address environmental sustainability issues such as animal disposal and disease impacts on the ecosystem. Supporting activities to the NAHS include developing Animal Health Science Foresight to enhance capability and capacity among partners and stakeholders to respond to animal health concerns. An integrated approach will foster collaboration among animal health science organizations across governments, industry, academia and other domestic and international organizations; will better enable technology and knowledge transfer; and will guide policy development.

Learn About…
THE ENHANCED FEED BAN

The Enhanced Feed Ban came into effect on July 12, 2007. It consists of a series of regulatory controls and measures intended to further mitigate the risk of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and to protect the health of Canadian livestock. Under the amended regulations, the use of certain cattle tissues capable of transmitting BSE, known as specified risk material (SRM), is strictly prohibited in the manufacture of animal feed, pet food and fertilizer. All SRM must be properly segregated and appropriately managed with permits through to disposal. All persons must comply with these requirements. The amended regulations also provide new requirements for the certification for export of products of rendering plants or fertilizer, fertilizer supplements or animal food that contain a product of a rendering plant.

2.2b Program Activity: Plant Health Risks and Production Systems

Protection of the plant resource base is integral to the Canadian food supply and critical to the well-being of all Canadians. Plant health risks and production systems programming plays an important role in minimizing and managing risk by protecting Canada’s plant resource base (crops and forests) from regulated pests and disease — including deliberate threats to the resource base — and by regulating agricultural products. Programs and services are developed and delivered to protect Canadian plant resources, fertilizers and plant products. Public confidence in plants, production systems and plant products is significantly enhanced by Canada’s reputation for effectively mitigating the risk of serious pests and diseases.

Expected Result: Risks to the plant resource base are managed within acceptable limits.¹⁹
Performance Indicators	Targets
Extent to which CFIA data indicates the entry and establishment of new and foreign regulated plant diseases and pests into Canada (listed diseases/pests in the Regulated Pest List for Canada)	No evidence (i.e. confirmed CFIA data) of the entry and establishment of new foreign regulated plant diseases and pests into Canada through specified regulated pathways
Extent of change in the presence of regulated plant diseases or pests beyond the regulated areas	No evidence of increase in the size of regulated areas for plant diseases/pests attributable to human activity
Extent to which plant health risks identified by the CFIA (within and outside Canada), are communicated to the affected stakeholders	Following the identification of a plant health risk, appropriate information is communicated with the relevant stakeholders in less than one month

Financial Resources ($ millions)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
79.0	77.0	62.6

Human Resources (FTEs)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
753	752	677

¹⁹ Acceptable limits are currently being defined in terms of established performance indicators. The CFIA is undertaking an extensive exercise to review all of its indicators to ensure that they are fair, reliable and valid measures that comprehensively capture the extent to which the Agency has achieved its expected results.

Risk Context

Plant Pest Hazards — A healthy and sustainable plant resource base in Canada is critical to the environment, social objectives and the economy. The CFIA , along with its partners, utilizes numerous measures to identify and reduce threats to the plant resource base, ranging from surveys and movement control to eradication and emergency response. The numerous possible pathways for entry of plant diseases into Canada, together with the potential environmental and economic impacts of the spread of a plant pest, make this a significant challenge that must continue to be actively addressed by the CFIA .

Strategies for mitigating risks and achieving expected results

The CFIA has the mandate under the Plant Protection Act to protect the plant resource base from plant pests and diseases. This resource base includes commercial plant-based agriculture and forestry. The Plant Health program is continuously updating and adjusting to respond to risks caused by expanding global trade with the most effective risk management strategies possible using available resources.

The CFIA administers the regulatory oversight for agricultural inputs, such as seeds and fertilizer, for Canada’s plant-based commercial agriculture system under the Seeds Act and the Fertilizers Act. The mandate is to ensure that plant varieties, innovative plant products (including products of biotechnology), fertilizers and supplements, are beneficial, do not impact on environmental sustainability within the agricultural production system and mitigate potential adverse human health impacts associated with handling and use of the products.

The CFIA employs the following two strategies under this program activity to mitigate the identified risks and achieve the expected result:

Strategy One: Conducting plant disease surveillance, detection and control activities; and
Strategy Two: Collaborating with partners and stakeholders to enhance program and regulatory frameworks.

Strategy One: Conducting plant disease surveillance, detection and control activities

In order to advance Strategy One, in 2008–09, the CFIA will:

increase its focus and effort on off-shore risk mitigation for imported plant products before they reach the Canadian border by implementing systems-based certification programs with the country of origin; and
finalize the Plant Pest Containment Guidelines for facilities handling plant pests to serve as the basis for the CFIA’s approval of medium-to-high-risk containment for facilities and laboratories.

Learn About…
REGULATING AGRICULTURAL INPUTS TO THE PLANT-BASED AGRICULTURAL SYSTEM

Canada’s crops and forests are also protected by the CFIA’s ongoing efforts related to the regulation of seeds, innovative plant products (including products of biotechnology), and plant supplements and fertilizers. For fertilizers and plant supplements, the CFIA conducts product inspections at blending and manufacturing plants, retail outlets and warehouses. The CFIA also routinely assesses and samples fertilizers and supplements to verify that they meet Canada’s standards for safety. The samples are tested for contaminants such as heavy metals, pesticides and pathogens such as salmonella. When necessary, the CFIA undertakes compliance and enforcement activities.

Pre-market assessments, as well as field inspections to ensure that required control measures are being met, are conducted on innovative plant products such as plants with novel traits. These pre-market risk assessments and field inspections mitigate potential environmental risks that may be caused by the introduction of innovative products. Pre-market assessments are also conducted prior to commercialization of most new commercial plant varieties.

Strategy Two: Collaborating with partners and stakeholders to enhance program and regulatory frameworks

In order to advance Strategy Two, in 2008–09, the CFIA will:

continue working with partners and stakeholders to improve programs and regulatory frameworks in support of managing risks to the plant resource base by modernizing the agricultural inputs and plant products programs related to plant production systems;
continue development of a “North American Perimeter Approach” to enhance cooperation to protect plant resources within countries through a collaborative approach towards addressing risks;
continue working with other government departments and stakeholders to continue development of the National Plant Biosecurity Strategy (NPBS);
continue leading the development of the National Plant Health Co-operation Framework to outline a comprehensive approach in Canada to eradicate, control and manage critical plant pests;
continue development of the Plant Health Compensation Framework with the key objectives of reducing the wait time in providing compensation to producers in cases where plant quarantine actions are taken for a specified pest, and to clarify the circumstances under which compensation is granted;
together with Natural Resources Canada, advance the Forestry Research Strategy for Plant Quarantine Pests to forecast research needs for the next five years; and
advance proactive communications, education and outreach of plant health risks to stakeholders.

Learn About…
FORESTRY RESEARCH PLAN FOR PLANT QUARANTINE PESTS

The value of the forestry industry within Canada is over $80 billion annually. The introduction of pests can have devastating effects on forest health, loss of native biodiversity and losses to timber and other valuable forest resources. Trade issues due to pest quarantines also pose significant challenges for the government. Hence, the Canadian Forest Service (CFS) and the CFIA have collaborated on a Forestry Research Plan for Plant Quarantine Pests to forecast research needs for the next five years. This initiative will improve collaboration between the CFIA and CFS and strategically align resources towards areas of concern while providing the necessary flexible framework to structure research needs for future plant quarantine pest problems. Working collaboratively will enhance capacity to support the development and improvement of policies to prevent the introduction and establishment of plant quarantine pests in Canada, and will improve technology and knowledge transfer to support the development of policies, regulations, international agreements and management tools.

2.2c Program Activity: Biodiversity Protection

The term biodiversity refers to the range of organisms present in a particular ecological community or system. It can be measured by the numbers and types of different species, or by genetic variations within and between species. Biodiversity provides the conditions and drives the processes that sustain the global economy and our very existence on earth.

Protection of Canada’s biodiversity is critical to the sustainability of Canada’s environment. Biodiversity protection programming plays an important role in minimizing and managing risks to Canada’s environment by developing and delivering programs and risk mitigation strategies to protect Canada’s biodiversity from the spread of invasive species and other pests due to environmental change and from novel agricultural products, including products of emerging technologies. Programs are developed and delivered to assess and manage environmental safety for the introduction of agricultural products. Through these programs, public confidence in Canada’s ability to assess and manage the risks associated with the introduction of new species and/or new agricultural products is maintained and significantly enhanced.

The CFIA provides regulatory oversight for novel agricultural products, including products of biotechnology, and for agricultural inputs that have the potential to impact natural and managed ecosystems through the destruction of plant material or to harm other organisms in that environment.

While all Canadians benefit from the preservation of our natural habitats, the key beneficiaries of this program activity are the agricultural and forestry sectors, as economic and environmental losses for producers and foresters that could be incurred through destructive plant pests and diseases, or by the introduction of harmful innovative plant products and agricultural inputs, are reduced or prevented. These programs also benefit Canadian industry by instilling international confidence in our regulatory systems, thereby supporting export of Canadian products.

*Expected Result:** Risks to biodiversity within the animal and plant resource base are managed within acceptable limits.
Performance Indicators	Targets
TBD	TBD
TBD	TBD

* Biodiversity protection is a new program activity for the CFIA . As such, the Agency is currently in the process of developing performance indicators and targets that accurately and comprehensively capture the effectiveness of our work under this program activity.

Financial Resources ($ millions)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
14.8	13.9	13.9

Human Resources (FTEs)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
130	130	130

Risk Context

Animal Disease and Plant Pest Hazards — A healthy and sustainable plant and animal resource base in Canada is critical to the environment, social objectives and the economy. The CFIA , along with its partners, utilizes numerous measures to identify and reduce threats to the animal and plant resource base, ranging from surveys and movement control to eradication and emergency response. The numerous possible pathways for entry of plant and animal diseases into Canada, together with the potential environmental impact, and to some degree social and/or economic impact of a major animal disease outbreak or the spread of a plant pest, make this a significant challenge that must continue to be actively addressed by the CFIA .

Science and Technology Capacity — Globalization has resulted in more commodities from higher-risk markets, and of novel agricultural inputs, being imported into Canada, thereby increasing the introduction of new vectors for disease transmission. The CFIA’s science and technology capacity must keep pace with these considerations in order to protect biodiversity in Canada’s animal and plant resource base.

Strategies for mitigating risks and achieving expected results

The CFIA employs the following two strategies under this program activity to mitigate the identified risks and achieve the expected result:

Strategy One: Preventing the spread of invasive alien species and assessing agricultural products for safety and efficacy; and
Strategy Two: Collaborating with partners and stakeholders to enhance program and regulatory frameworks.

Strategy One: Preventing the spread of invasive alien species and assessing agricultural products for safety and efficacy

In order to advance Strategy One, in 2008–09, the CFIA will:

advance the Plant Health Program to prevent the spread of invasive alien species;
focus on increasing communication with our regulatory partners as well as regulated parties and the Canadian public;
assess agricultural products, including livestock feeds, supplements, veterinary biologics and seeds, to ensure they are effective, safe and contribute to efficient production and maintenance of healthy livestock and crops and food safety; and
undertake environmental safety assessments of plants with novel traits (PNTs), novel feeds, novel fertilizer supplements, and veterinary biologics (including products of biotechnology) to take into account impacts on biodiversity, sustainability, impacts on non-target organisms and exposure to bystanders.

Learn About…
PREVENTING THE SPREAD OF INVASIVE ALIEN SPECIES

Invasive alien species (IAS) are plants, animals and other living organisms that spread when introduced to new areas and that cause serious and often irreversible damage where they become established. Due to their impacts as predators, parasites and competitors of the established flora and fauna in invaded areas, IAS are considered to be the second most significant threat to biodiversity after habitat loss. Species such as Asian long-horned beetle attack native Canadian species, reducing their viability and potentially threatening their continued existence in parts of their natural range.

New IAS may be introduced by pathways that include plants, plant products and people. The CFIA Plant Health program focuses on the prevention of IAS through the identification and regulation of high-risk species and pathways and — in collaboration with partners such as the Canadian Forest Service — the detection and management of critical species. Activities to protect biodiversity include the identification of high-risk species through risk analysis, surveillance, response planning, regulation of high-risk pathways, and collaboration with partners to respond effectively to existing IAS and to provide information to Canadians on IAS.

Strategy Two: Collaborating with partners and stakeholders to enhance program and regulatory frameworks

In order to advance Strategy Two, in 2008–09, the CFIA will:

work with partners and stakeholders to enhance program and regulatory frameworks in support of managing risks to biodiversity as relevant to the plant and animal resource base;
advance a regulatory modernization initiative for biotechnology whereby collaborative policy discussion and development between all affected federal partners will ensure that a consistent approach to regulatory oversight is taken, duplication eliminated where possible and regulatory gaps are addressed;
undertake multi-stakeholder consultations to clarify and update the regulatory requirements for products of biotechnology to ensure that industry has clear guidance as to when a product triggers regulation, which regulatory requirements must be met and which regulatory processes must be followed (this inititative also supports strategic outcome 3, with a focus on consumers and integrated regulatory frameworks);
advance the National Plant Biosecurity Strategy (NPBS) to strengthen the capacity of an integrated Canadian plant health regulatory system; strengthen the capacity of Canada’s plant biotechnology regulatory system to support new product innovation while maintaining environmental sustainability and consumer and market confidence; and, strengthen and streamline the Canadian seed and fertilizer regulatory framework to support enhanced regulatory compliance and a strong regulatory process in order to prevent potential adverse effects and to ensure that these agricultural inputs do not cause adverse effects when agricultural products are released into the environment. A series of activities are planned for 2008–09 toward developing the NPBS, including:
- conducting stakeholder consultations;
- developing an import policy for innovative plant products;
- initiating development of a Plant Health Control and Tracking System to provide timely and accurate information on plants and plant products, and CFIA activities related to facilitating the movement of goods or preventing the introduction and spread of plant pests;
- establishing a coordinated emergency response plan for plant pests and diseases;
- initiating the development of a Canadian Invasive Plant Framework, in collaboration with other government organizations, to clarify roles and responsibilities with respect to invasive plants, and to facilitate collaborative actions to protect Canada from the impacts of high-priority invasive plants; and
- determining first-priority invasive plant species that threaten Canada and establishing appropriate response plans and control measures for their prevention, early detection, or management.

Learn About…
THE FIVE-YEAR BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH PLAN, 2008-13

Canada is a leader in biotechnology research and development, and the biotechnology industry is a vital part of the Canadian economy. Products of biotechnology offer many potential benefits to consumers and the environment, but appropriate regulation is essential if these benefits are to be realized. The CFIA regulates products of biotechnology and other novel organisms through mandatory pre-market evaluation programs that determine whether such products can be safely released into the environment and marketplace. The CFIA has exclusive or shared regulatory responsibilities for novel plants, feeds, fertilizers, animals, veterinary biologics and foods.

Research in support of regulation is a critical component of Canada’s regulatory system. As new products of biotechnology are developed, new knowledge is required to support policy development and to make and enforce regulatory decisions.

The Biotechnology Research Plan will support the CFIA in achieving its regulatory responsibilities through coordinated biotechnology research and development activities. This research strategy will align research themes with the CFIA’s mandate and Government of Canada priorities and foster the engagement of stakeholders for the effective development and delivery of research activities.

2.3 Strategic Outcome: Contributes to consumer protection and market access based on the application of science and standards

GoC Outcome	A Fair and Secure Marketplace		A Prosperous Canada through Global Commerce
CFIA Strategic Outcome	Contributes to consumer protection and market access based on the application of science and standards
Expected Results	The CFIA’s regulatory framework provides the greatest net benefit for Canadians as it is based on scientific approaches and takes into account international contributions and stakeholders’ interests		Canadian producers of food, plants, animals and related products operate within a fair and efficient marketplace, from which Canadian consumers benefit
Program Activities	Integrated Regulatory Frameworks		Domestic and International Market Access
Key Strategic Risks	Partnership: Roles and Responsibilities	Program Framework
Priorities	Improving the program and regulatory frameworks to support continued consumer protection and economic propserity
Strategies	• Improving and modernizing program and regulatory frameworks; and • Promoting national and international alignment.		• Protecting consumers and the marketplace from unfair practices; • Contributing to a fair and efficient marketplace and improving market access; and • Promoting the security of Canada’s food supply and agricultural resource base.
SO3 Strategic Planning Framework

A fair and secure marketplace maintains and enhances consumer confidence and gives businesses an optimal environment for competitiveness. The CFIA is committed to maintaining and improving the legislative and regulatory base related to its mandate in order to protect consumers and support high standards for a safe, fair and secure trading system. The CFIA will continue to promote strong, coherent and science-based regulation and standards, both domestically and internationally, for food safety and public health, consumer protection and animal and plant health.

The CFIA will also concentrate its efforts on strengthening and modernizing its regulatory base to protect consumers and facilitate market access. The objective is to have an outcome-oriented regulatory base that incorporates, by reference, international science-based standards that are effective and support innovation by regulated industry, while providing for appropriate oversight by the CFIA .

The strategies, programs and activities related to achieving this strategic outcome also contribute to enabling the CFIA to achieve the strategic outcomes previously covered in this document. The roles and responsibilities of the key federal partners and international standard-setting organizations for this strategic outcome are described in section 4.2 of this report.

Key risks to the CFIA’s capacity to achieve this strategic outcome are the program framework and partnership. In order to mitigate these risks, the Agency will concentrate its efforts on the delivery of the following priority:

improving the program and regulatory frameworks to support continued consumer protection and economic prosperity.

The key strategies are presented per the CFIA’s Program Activity Architecture (PAA), under two program activities

Integrated Regulatory Frameworks; and
Domestic and International Market Access.

These key strategies and the planned activities that support them are described in the following sections 2.3a and 2.3b.

2.3a Program Activity: Integrated Regulatory Frameworks

Integrated regulatory frameworks programming enables economic prosperity of Canadians through its contribution to the development and effective implementation of national and international regulatory frameworks for food, animals and plants, and their products that are transparent, science-based, rules-based and mutually reinforcing. By contributing to the development of these frameworks, the ability of different jurisdictions to protect against sanitary and phytosanitary²⁰ risks, and to pursue other legitimate objectives in a manner that is consistent with a fair and competitive market economy, is reinforced.

Expected Result: The CFIA’s regulatory framework provides the greatest net benefit for Canadians as it is based on scientific approaches and takes into account international contributions and stakeholders’ interests
Performance Indicators	Targets
The proportion of regulatory initiatives that are pre-published in Canada Gazette, Part I prior to publication in Canada Gazette, Part II²¹	≥ 95 per cent of regulatory initiatives are pre-published in Canada Gazette, Part I prior to publication in Canada Gazette, Part II

Financial Resources ($ millions)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
19.5	18.3	18.4

Human Resources (FTEs)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
237	237	237

²⁰ Phytosanitary: Pertaining specifically to the health of plants.

²¹ There are instances where a regulatory initiative would be published in Canada Gazette Part II without being pre-published in Canada Gazette Part I. This is a measure of the extent to which stakeholders and partners have the opportunity to comment on specific initiatives.

Risk Context

Program Framework — Outdated statutes, insufficient authority and a variable statutory base could impede the CFIA’s ability to carry out its mandate to protect consumers from preventable health risks and unsafe or deceptive practices in a uniform manner. The CFIA will continue to pursue mechanisms to update and modernize its program and regulatory frameworks.

Retaining, strengthening and reinforcing rules and science-based approaches within the international regulatory framework will help to achieve Canada’s regulatory objectives and security and protect Canadian exporters from discriminatory and unnecessary barriers. The Agency must continue to work through international institutions to help develop and operationalize international rules and in other international fora to promote the development of international standards and policies that are based on sound science to ensure that human, animal, ecosystem or plant life or health are protected in a world where trade is expanding.

Partnership: Roles and Responsibilities — In delivering the various aspects of its mandate, the Agency works with various external parties, including other government departments and other levels of government, other nations, industry, and national and international bodies. Given the number and complexities of these relationships, it is essential that all roles and responsibilities be aligned and coordinated to enable effective program delivery.

Strategies for mitigating risks and achieving expected results

As food safety, animal and plant health, and consumer protection issues continue to emerge, there is a need to integrate, modernize and consolidate standards and inspection techniques. A modernized legislative and regulatory foundation would move the Agency from a regulatory base that is variable across different commodities and in some cases outdated, to one that is modern, consistent, science-based and outcome-oriented. To respond to the need for more effective regulation of new products, the Agency is committed to pursuing strategies aimed at reducing barriers.

The CFIA employs two strategies under this program activity to mitigate the identified risks and achieve the expected result:

Strategy One: Improving and modernizing program and regulatory frameworks; and
Strategy Two: Promoting national and international alignment.

Strategy One: Improving and modernizing program and regulatory frameworks

In order to advance Strategy One, the CFIA will:

work toward implementing the government-wide Cabinet Directive on Streamlining Regulation (CDSR)²², which is aimed at improving the Government of Canada’s regulatory processes. As the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat (TBS) develops frameworks and policies to support the CDSR, the Agency will integrate them into its regulatory development processes;
continue to contribute to the Government of Canada’s Paperwork Burden Reduction Initiative (PBRI)²³ to measure the administrative burden imposed by government on small business and to pursue opportunities to reduce, rationalize and simplify regulatory requirements by up to 20% by November 2008;
contribute to the Growing Forward²⁴ vision for agricultural policy and program development agreed upon on June 29, 2007, by federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of Agriculture;
in support of the National Aquatic Animal Health Program (NAAHP), advance regulations under the Health of Animals Act to encompass aquatic animals and related reportable and notifiable diseases of trade concern;
advance regulations to add a list of toxic substances to the Health of Animals Regulations to allow the CFIA to respond to toxic contamination events in the same manner as it responds to animal disease emergencies;
advance regulatory amendments under Canada Agricultural Products Act with respect to Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Regulations, Licensing and Arbitration Regulations, Dairy Regulations and Maple Regulations in order to ensure fair and equitable trade practices;
review alcohol legislation to develop legislative and policy options on underlying issues such as certification of age and origin characteristics for exported Canadian whisky; and
further to the Organic Products Regulations, published in December 2006, advance plans for 2008–09 and beyond to establish: a Canada Organic Office; develop a web-based performance management system for industry; and negotiate equivalency of regulations and standards with other countries.

The CFIA’s complete regulatory plan for 2008–09 can be found in Section III of this report.

²² For more information on the CDSR, visit the official Government of Canada regulations website: http://www.regulation.gc.ca/directive/directive00-eng.asp

²³ For more information of the PBRI, visit the official Industry Canada PBRI website: http://www.reducingpaperburden.gc.ca/epic/site/pbri-iafp.nsf/en/h_sx00001e.html

²⁴ For more information, visit the official Agriculture and Agri-food Canada Growing Forward website: http://www.agr.gc.ca/pol/grow-croiss/index_e.php

Learn About…
PLANT PROGRAMS MODERNIZATION

Within the Plant Health programs, significant program modernization initiatives are currently underway in both the areas of seed and fertilizer regulation. The objective of these program modernization initiatives is to minimize unnecessary regulatory burden, reduce barriers to innovation and trade, and to facilitate competitiveness of the Canadian agricultural sector while maintaining the highest safety, quality and environmental sustainability standards. These initiatives also focus on increasing transparency and strengthening the consultation capacity through ongoing dialogue, consensus building and active stakeholder engagement at all stages of the regulatory renewal process.

Strategy Two: Promoting national and international alignment

In order to advance Strategy Two, the CFIA will:

continue to work on trade barriers with national partners and stakeholders including provincial/ territorial departments;
continue to lead Canada’s participation in a number of international regulatory fora including the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement discussions; the International Plant Protection Convention; and the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE);
continue to work bilaterally and multilaterally with a number of national and international partners to remain at the forefront of scientific developments and to advance sound, science-based decision making; and
promote the development and implementation of both domestic and international science-based regulation related to its mandate and regulatory responsibilities.

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CFIA’s ENGAGEMENT IN INTERNATIONAL FORA

The CFIA leads Canada’s participation in a number of international regulatory fora, including the WTO Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement²⁵ discussions; the International Plant Protection Convention; and, the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). Additionally, the CFIA co-leads, with Health Canada, the government’s participation in the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an international standard-setting organization, and actively participates in a variety of other international fora focussed on regulatory issues. (See Section IV for more information on the specific objectives of these international fora.)

The CFIA works bilaterally and multilaterally with a number of national and international partners to remain at the forefront of scientific developments and to advance sound, science-based decision making. Agency researchers strive to keep abreast of changing technologies and regulatory requirements by developing methods and diagnostic tools that support compliance and enforcement, and participate in negotiation of sanitary and phytosanitary measures that facilitate trade. International rules and standards form the basis for regulating imports and exports of products that could pose a risk to food safety, consumer protection, and animal and plant health.

The CFIA promotes the Canadian experience, objectives, and use of the best available scientific knowledge in the development of international agreements, arrangements and standards. The CFIA continues to make gains for Canada in the resolution of phytosanitary technical market access issues on exports. At the same time, the Agency considers international agreements, arrangements and standards when developing and updating standards here in Canada.

²⁵ Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures and Agreement: These are measures to protect human, animal and plant life or health and to ensure that food is safe to eat. For more information on the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) visit the website: http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/sps_e/spsagr_e.htm

2.3b Program Activity: Domestic and International Market Access

Domestic and international market access programming contributes to securing the conditions for an innovative and prosperous economy. It does so primarily by enabling products to enter markets through the implementation and enforcement of an effective and efficient regulatory system that is accessible, understandable and responsive to domestic and international market requirements. Information provided to consumers by producers is verified as truthful and not misleading and Canadian products are verified as meeting high quality and safety standards.

Expected Result: Canadian producers of food, plants, animals and related products operate within a fair and efficient marketplace, from which Canadian consumers benefit
Performance Indicators	Targets
The extent to which products, labels, and advertisements inspected are accurately represented	70 per cent of products, labels, and advertisements inspected are accurately represented²⁶
Extent to which certified food, animal and plant shipments meet the receiving country’s import requirements	≥ 99 per cent meet requirements
Extent to which the service standards within the plant program are met²⁷	≥ 95 per cent of plant programs applications which are subject to service standards are completed within the service standard identified

Financial Resources ($ millions)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
30.3	28.6	28.7

Human Resources (FTEs)
2008–09	2009–10	2010–11
496	496	496

²⁶ The Agency conducts targeted inspections of products, labels and advertisements to find those that are more likely to be in non-compliance. As a result, the target of 70% is deemed appropriate.

²⁷ The plant program has various service standards in relation to the applications they receive. This indicator is a measure of the extent to which they are able to achieve the established standards.

Risk Context

Program Framework — Potential misalignment of Canadian inspection systems with international demands may increase the risk associated with diminished market access for Canadian producers. The CFIA’s program framework must have the capacity required to develop inspections systems that will address risks in an effective manner to respond to international and domestic market demands and maintain international and domestic confidence in Canada’s inspection systems.

Strategies for mitigating risks and achieving expected results

International trade requirements, the security of Canada’s food supply and resource base, and increasing consumer demands require a more proactive and flexible approach in system design and delivery in order to protect consumers and enhance market access. In a fair marketplace, there is an expectation that buyer and seller have equal power. The CFIA is responsible for promoting and maintaining fair competition by, among other things, setting labelling standards that mitigate the risk of false or misleading representation of products.

The CFIA employs three strategies under this program activity to mitigate the identified risks and achieve the expected result:

Strategy One: Protecting consumers and the marketplace from unfair practices;
Strategy Two: Contributing to a fair and efficient marketplace and improving market access; and
Strategy Three: Promoting the security of Canada’s food supply and agricultural resource base.

Strategy One: Protecting consumers and the marketplace from unfair practices

In order to advance Strategy One, the CFIA will:

continue to promote compliance by conducting trader education in regulatory requirements by investigating consumer and trade complaints; inspecting and testing food products at the manufacturing, retail and import levels of trade; and by taking effective compliance and enforcement action. (Nutrition labelling planned activities are discussed in Strategic Outcome One under Program Activity 2.1a.);
continue to conduct research and lead initiatives that will enhance the CFIA’s capacity to address product misrepresentation issues. Planned activities for 2008–09 include a review of the labelling policy for the “Product of Canada” claims. The CFIA will also begin the development of a policy framework to clarify the scope of CFIA’s consumer protection mandate;
contribute to the Government of Canada review of its current voluntary “Product of Canada” and “Made in Canada” labelling policies; and
continue to promote compliance with consumer protection elements in non-food sectors, such as seed and fertilizers, through label review in order to mitigate against the risk of false or misleading representation of products. Regulatory oversight of product quality and/or efficacy in these areas will also ensure consumer protection.

Learn About…
FAIR LABELLING PRACTICES

The Government of Canada requires basic labelling information on all pre-packaged food products to protect consumers and provide them with accurate information. Canadians have asked for more information to assist them in making more informed decisions and food choices.

Fair Labelling Practices — The Fair Labelling Practices Program protects consumers from deceptive practices (e.g., unfairly and inaccurately presenting net weight and contents through labelling). It also facilitates fair competition for industry by verifying that the labels on their products comply with the provisions of the Food and Drug Regulations and the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations that relate to net quantity, composition, labelling and advertising. These provisions apply to both domestically produced and imported food products.

The CFIA is responsible for enforcing food labelling provisions in Canada and plays a key role in protecting consumers and in enabling them to make informed choices. Through its technical committee process, the CFIA identifies and prioritizes potential deceptive labelling practices in the marketplace, and develops strategies to direct inspection and laboratory resources towards products and establishments determined to pose the greatest non-compliance risk to consumers.

The CFIA also requires labelling for a number of commodities such as seed and fertilizers to mitigate the risk of false or misleading representation of products. Regulatory oversight of product quality and/or efficacy in these areas also ensures consumer protection.

Strategy Two: Contributing to a fair and efficient marketplace and improving market access

In order to advance Strategy Two, the CFIA will:

continue to promote the acceptance and implementation of Good Importing Practices (GIP) with industry in order to encourage importers of agri-food products to develop and put in place hygiene controls to improve food safety outcomes and enhance compliance with regulations;
continue to work towards an Enhanced Import Control Program to provide equivalency for domestic food-related trade requirements. The CFIA will conduct a horizontal review of import control programs; enhance import control activities; amend policies to provide clear directives to importers in meeting all regulatory requirements; and clarify procedures for inspectors in conducting compliance verification activities;
together with the Canada Border Services Agency, continue to work towards the Single Window Initiative (SWI) which endeavours to implement a streamlined approach for the electronic collection, use and dissemination of commercial trade data. The SWI will provide a single interface that will allow traders to fulfil all import, export and transit-related regulatory requirements more efficiently, thereby reducing the paper burden and potential duplication posed by the current system;
contribute to the development of E-certification and Electronic Data Interchange for meat and plant products in order to reduce paper burden on industry and wait times at the border; and
develop and implement a dedicated Destination Inspection Service for fresh fruits and vegetables, the objective of which is to deliver timely, non-biased quality inspections for fresh fruits and vegetables, to be used for dispute resolution purposes. Plans for 2008–09 and beyond include the development of a national training program to enable consistency in program delivery and the implementation of an integrated and comprehensive information system.

Learn About…
EXPORT CERTIFICATION

The CFIA is recognized by foreign governments as the competent authority in Canada for the regulation of food, plants and animals. As a result, the CFIA is involved in marketplace monitoring and is also requested to certify thousands of export shipments each year, attesting to the safety of Canadian products and the rigour of Canada’s inspection system. The certification process plays an important role in Canada’s international trade and helps to protect the excellent international reputation of Canada’s exports of foods, plants, animals and associated products.

Strategy Three: Promoting the security of Canada’s food supply and agricultural resource base

In order to advance Strategy Three, the CFIA will:

continue to promote the safety of imported products that enter Canada by working with partners, such as the Canada Border Service Agency, to close potential gaps in security that may threaten the food supply, crops and livestock from invasive organisms; and
under the umbrella of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP)²⁸, the CFIA will continue to work with partners to develop mechanisms to enhance cooperation and information exchange on food safety within North America.

²⁸ For more information, visit the official Government of Canada SPP website: http://www.spp.gov/

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Section II — Analysis of Program Activities by Strategic Outcome

2.1 Strategic Outcome: Public health risks associated with the food supply and transmission of animal diseases to humans are minimized and managed

2.1a Program Activity: Food Safety and Nutrition Risks

2.1b Program Activity: Zoonotic Risk

2.2 Strategic Outcome: A safe and sustainable plant and animal resource base

2.2a Program Activity: Animal Health Risks and Production Systems

2.2b Program Activity: Plant Health Risks and Production Systems

2.2c Program Activity: Biodiversity Protection

2.3 Strategic Outcome: Contributes to consumer protection and market access based on the application of science and standards

2.3a Program Activity: Integrated Regulatory Frameworks

2.3b Program Activity: Domestic and International Market Access