Canada

On December 21, 2006, the Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB) announced approval of the revised Canada Organic Standard and Permitted Substances List. CGSB notified the organic standard technical committee that the comments from the last standards revision vote had been studied and the responses tabled.

The issues arising from the comments were put on a future work list for the technical committee to address in 2007-2008. OTA sits on the CGSB's Committee on Organic Agriculture and is active on updating the standards in time for the implementation of Canada's Organic Products Regulations (expected in December 2008) 
  
For links to the regulations and standards documents, please visit OTA's Canadian Standards page.

Although Canada has had an organic standard since 1999, it has not been codified in law. Certification of organic producers and handlers, and accreditation of certifiers has been voluntary, except in Québec, which requires certification to the Québec organic standard by a certifying body accredited by the Conseil des appellations agroalimentaires du Québec (CAAQ). 

The Canadian organic community has wanted a mandatory regulatory system to make it possible to secure equivalency agreements with other countries. The proposed Canada Organic Regime will define accredited certifiers, procedures for inspection and certification, a Canada Organic seal, surveillance and enforcement, and maintenance of the Canada Organic Standard and Permitted Substance List. 

OTA Canada was active on the Organic Regulatory Committee since it was formed in January of 2003. That committee included representatives of national, provincial and regional organic organizations, certifiers and businesses.  That committee’s mandate ended with the implementation of the final Canadian Organic Products Regulations. 

It is hoped that the organic industry advisory body that will advise the government on the regulation will be the Organic Federation of Canada/Fédération biologique du Canada, which consists of one industry representative from each province and territory, as well as one national trade seat. OTA currently holds the trade seat, a revolving seat for national associations with interest in the growth of organic trade in Canada. 
  

For more information on Canada’s organic regime, contact otacanada@ota.com or (613) 482-1717