Amending the Health of Animals Regulations
January 5, 2010No Commentshttp://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2009/2009-12-19/html/reg1-eng.html#rias
Issue: Canada has no national regulations to control the import or movement of crustaceans, molluscs or finfish species other than salmonids for disease control purposes. In areas where programs for the control of aquatic animal disease exist, implementation is limited and varies between provinces/ territories. This leaves Canada’s aquatic resources vulnerable to devastation by the introduction or spread of diseases and also leaves exporters vulnerable to market closures. Canada’s regulatory infrastructure currently lags behind international standards for aquatic animal health control measures.
Description: Amendments to the Health of Animals Regulations and the Reportable Diseases Regulations are needed to address regulatory gaps and to implement Canada’s National Aquatic Animal Health Program (NAAHP). Federal intervention is required to meet international trade standards and prevent loss of aquatic resources due to disease introduction or spread. The proposed amendments to the Health of Animals Regulations (the Regulations) add aquatic animals and diseases of national and international significance to the regulatory framework currently applied to terrestrial animals. The regulatory changes require the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to be informed of the presence of listed diseases and implement controls to prevent these diseases from being introduced into, or spread within, Canada.
Cost-benefit statement: These regulations ensure aquatic animals, and their products that pose a risk of listed disease spread, meet the requirements of international standards for national aquatic animal disease management. This supports Canada’s reputation for high quality seafood exports and the CFIA’s current investment in securing market access (domestic and international).
In 2006, Canada exported marine, freshwater and aquaculture fish and seafood products worth $4.1 billion, representing 85% (in value) of catches and aquaculture production. Imports for the same period were worth $2.1 billion, some of which were processed and re-exported. Fishery harvest and processing industries represent a multi-billion-dollar investment to coastal and rural economies in Canada, including Aboriginal communities. In 2006, marine and freshwater fisheries employed (directly and indirectly) 51 462 people, while the processing industry and aquaculture employed, respectively, 28 587 and 3 970 people. Furthermore, money spent on recreational fishing activities contributed $7.5 billion to local economies across Canada.
Increasingly stringent international standards are driving seafood importing nations to require Canada to certify health (disease) status, not just food safety, of live aquatic animals and their products. Without the proposed regulatory amendments, Canada cannot meet these standards, and is facing increasing challenges to export market access. Canada is already subject to a lesser market access than the United States, Europe and some other nations due to our current, outdated, federal regulatory framework.
Business and consumer impacts: Import controls and compulsory notification of regulated diseases would support the health attestation required to access current markets and would also increase the competitive access for Canadian fish and seafood to new export markets. The regulatory amendments would also reduce Canada’s current vulnerability to losses by a wide range of seafood sector users due to the introduction or spread of infectious diseases. Costs of compliance for businesses and individuals involved in importing live aquatic animals and products or movements within Canada from high-risk to low-risk areas would depend on the conditions imposed to mitigate the risk of disease transfer.
Currently, if an aquatic disease were to be discovered in one part of Canada, it would have the potential to affect the disease status of the whole country. This amendment would allow for areas to be designated as infected and as buffer areas, thereby preserving a higher status in the rest of the country.
The impact on consumers would be minimal as table ready seafood is not controlled under the proposed regulatory amendments. However, the protection given to Canada’s aquatic animal resources would help sustainable productivity which, indirectly, benefits consumers with stable pricing.
Domestic and international coordination and cooperation: Canada is a member of the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), which has 175 member countries and is the international standard-setting body for the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), as applied to animal health. Canada is an active member at the world and regional levels, and is working with the United States on measures applied to shared waters. Canada is working to ensure that the application of the standards are aligned with those of key trade partners, such as Europe. The regulations proposed for the amendment are based on the international standard with specific conditions to protect Canada’s aquatic resources and health status.
Agriculture, Fisheries, Health Care