A heifer whose tissues tested positive for bovine tuberculosis (TB) at slaughter in the U.S. has been traced back to a Saskatchewan cattle herd which has now turned up two more cases of the disease. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, in a report dated Wednesday, said it was notified Feb. 23 by the U.S. Department […] Read more
Bovine TB turns up in Saskatchewan herd
Two cases found after U.S. test flags Canadian heifer
Philippines to host Canada’s Indo-Pacific ag office
AAFC/CFIA base to be set up in Manila, Bibeau says
Canada’s agriculture department and food safety agency will carry out their part of the federal government’s Indo-Pacific strategy from a new office in Manila, Philippines. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced the office’s location Wednesday in Ottawa during a meeting with the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance (CAFTA), which represents Canada’s export-dependent ag commodity groups on […] Read more
Beef sector speaks out on costly processing rules
Producers, smaller processors bear the brunt of costs from BSE-era regulations
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta beef producers still feel the fallout from BSE through regulations intended for processors, though it is 20 years since the crisis began. Canadian beef processors pay millions more than their U.S. counterparts to process and dispose of specified risk material (SRM), first targeted during the BSE era, in cattle older than 30 months (OTM). […] Read more
The trade take on CFIA’s gene-editing decision
Canada joins many countries friendly to GE crops, but some regions and organic markets will continue to opt out
Reading Time: 3 minutes When it comes to grain trade, systems that provide transparency and choice for customers will likely continue to be important as more gene-edited crops hit the market. “We’re working proactively on some of these approaches,” said Krista Zuzak, director of crop protection and production with Cereals Canada. On May 3, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau […] Read more
Green light for gene editing heralds new age in farming
New guidance from Ottawa puts gene-edited varieties on par with their conventionally bred cousins
Reading Time: 4 minutes In what many believe will be a turning point for agriculture here, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has legalized the growth and marketing of crop varieties developed with gene editing. That has fired up Jason Lenz’s imagination about the technology’s impact on food waste and food security — and also on flea beetles. “Food security […] Read more
MPs get assurance on Canada’s biosecurity preparedness
Canada well prepared for foreign animal diseases, officials say
Officials from several federal agencies have reassured the public about Canada’s animal biosecurity preparedness. Witnesses from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) spoke to MPs’ concerns about livestock diseases at a committee meeting last Wednesday afternoon. Biosecurity preparedness has been a relevant issue […] Read more
Gene-edited crops clear CFIA’s regulatory bar
Agency guidance puts gene editing on level of conventional breeding
Plants gene-edited for efficient use of water or nutrients or to better withstand pests or drought now won’t have to clear the same regulatory hurdles in Canada as any crops that are modified for herbicide tolerance or include foreign genes. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Wednesday announced updated guidance from the Canadian Food Inspection […] Read more
Federal workers reach tentative deal
Over 120,000 PSAC members back on job Monday
Over 120,000 striking federal government employees are expected to return to work starting Monday morning (May 1) after reaching tentative agreements overnight. The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announced after midnight Monday it had reached tentative agreements for workers in four bargaining units who negotiate with the federal Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. Among […] Read more
Ontario domestic dog dies of avian flu
Three poultry barns east of Montreal see outbreaks in space of a week
Pet owners are being warned not to feed their animals raw meat from poultry or game birds or allow pets to consume or play with dead wild birds after the death of a dog from avian flu in southern Ontario. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Tuesday reported the results of a necropsy on an […] Read more
CFIA seeks feedback on traceability, animal ID amendments
Producers have until June 16 to comment on proposals
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is now seeking comment on its proposed amendments to livestock identification and traceability regulations. The regulatory proposal would address what the agency calls “gaps” in the current system, including: adding goats and cervids as animal species that share diseases with other regulated livestock, and therefore subject to traceability requirements, shortening […] Read more
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