Further Strengthening Protection of Health and the Environment: Targeted Review of the Pest Control Products Act In December 2021, the Health Minister’s Mandate Letter directed the Minister Duclos to ensure Canadians are protected from risks associated with the use of pesticides and to better protect human health, wildlife and the environment, modernize and strengthen the Read more
NFU Briefs
2022
National Farmers Union BRIEFING NOTE regarding proposed regulatory guidances for plants and seeds produced using new biotechnologies (gene editing) Recommendations to Health Canada: • All gene-edited products, including those with no foreign DNA, should be regulated as novel and therefore subject to government safety assessment and pre-market notification. • We recommend that all retransformants continue Read more
The National Farmers Union (NFU) is pleased to provide input regarding the research and science-based activities currently carried out at the Canadian Grain Commission (CGC). The NFU strongly supports maintaining and enhancing the CGC’s research capacity because it is a necessary component upholding the mandate of the CGC, which is to “in the interests of Read more
National Farmers Union submission to The House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-food study on Canada’s agricultural and agri-food supply chain Canada’s ongoing supply chain issues have become even more severe since this study was initiated on January 25, 2022. Then, pandemic-related disruptions were top of mind. On January 31 the “freedom Read more
The NFU supports the CGC's proposed changes to "subject to" framework. The CGC’s authority to enforce grade and dockage through binding determination in the event of a dispute provides farmers with a power-balancing force against companies that are able to unfairly downgrade and thereby discount grain delivered to the country elevator. Read more
NFU President, Katie Ward, appeared before the House of Commons Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food on February 17, 2022. View the video of her presentation starting at the 15:37:25 minute mark. Good afternoon Mr. Chairman, and members of the Committee. I am pleased to provide insights and recommendations from the National Farmers Union regarding agriculture Read more
2021
Submission to CFIA on guidance for determining whether a plant is subject to Part V of the Seeds Regulations The NFU is a voluntary direct-membership, non-partisan, national farm organization made up of thousands of farm families from across Canada who produce a wide variety of food products, including grains, livestock, fruits and vegetables. Founded in Read more
The CFIA’s proposed guidance would allow plant developers (biotechnology companies) to decide for themselves whether their product meets the CFIA’s criteria for regulation as a PNT. It proposes to exempt from regulation genetically engineered plants that do not contain foreign DNA if they are not expected to result in any of four environmental impacts the CFIA lists. In addition, the proposed criteria would exempt some genetically engineered plants that have a trait previously approved by the CFIA, even if the approved trait was in another plant species or developed using different technology. Read more
Pest Management Regulatory Agency Publications Section Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) Health Canada 2720 Riverside Drive Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9 By e-mail: hc.pmra.publications-arla.sc@canada.ca August 13, 2021 Re: Proposed Special Review Decision PSRD2021-02, Special Reviews: Potential environmental risk related to squash bee (Peponapis pruinosa) exposure to Clothianidin, Thiamethoxam and Imidacloprid used on cucurbits The National Farmers Union Read more
NFU members are increasingly concerned about the health and environmental impacts of glyphosate. Via our democratic policy development process, we adopted our position opposed to the pre-harvest spraying of glyphosate in 2014. This stance informs our position against the proposed MRL increases. Read more
