The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has launched a 60-day public consultation on its Proposal to Facilitate the Modernization of the Seed Regulatory Framework. The Agency is seeking public feedback on this proposal, in order to gauge the level of support for the proposed changes, and to identify priority areas for discussion with regard to Canada's Seed Program.

The public consultation will include both a Web-based workbook and meetings with key stakeholder groups. A link to the Web-based workbook is available on the CFIA's Web site at www.inspection.gc.ca.

The Proposal to Facilitate the Modernization of the Seed Regulatory Framework has been developed over a three-year period with broad stakeholder participation. It is intended to strengthen and increase flexibility within the current seed variety registration system, and to facilitate ongoing discussion, analysis and consensus-building activities to address a range of other important seed regulatory issues.

The information gathered through the public consultation will help the CFIA to finalize its proposal and introduce any required regulatory amendments.