Canada’s government has kicked off a transition plan to shift the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s food safety work to the oversight of the federal Health Ministry.
The reorganization, the government announced Oct. 9, “will strengthen Canada’s food safety system by bringing all three authorities responsible for food safety under one minister” — which today is federal Health Minister Rona Ambrose.
The three authorities now reporting to Minister Ambrose will be Health Canada, the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and CFIA.
The announcement is expected to “serve to create a stronger system with better collaboration and communication.”
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A transition team of staff from Health Canada, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, CFIA and PHAC has been set up “to ensure that the transition happens as quickly and seamlessly as possible.”
CFIA, in a separate statement, said the new reporting structure and changeover will be taking place immediately, but it will take some time to complete the transition.
The statement said the federal agriculture minister, under this reorganization, will continue to be responsible for the CFIA’s non-food safety agricultural activities, including economic and trade issues, as well as important animal health and plant protection work.
The roles of the CFIA, Health Canada and PHAC will not change under the new structure, the government said. “Having all three federal authorities report to the same minister will ensure stronger co-ordination with federal authorities and communication with Canadians.”
