Canada Gazette Vol. 140, No. 37 — September 16, 2006 (full bilingual PDF version)
Source: http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2006/20060916/html/regle1-e.html

Regulations Amending the Seeds Regulations
Statutory authority
Seeds Act
Sponsoring agency: Canadian Food Inspection Agency

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT
(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Description

The Seeds Regulations (the Regulations) govern the testing, inspection, quality and sale of seeds to facilitate the availability of pure, effective seed for Canadian consumers and export markets.

In order for the regulatory system to remain efficient, the standards prescribed in the Regulations must evolve to reflect current production practices and market conditions. The purpose of this initiative is to amend the Regulations to reflect current realities in the seed industry and to facilitate both domestic and international trade.

The proposal involves a number of changes to the body of the Regulations to provide clarifications or that are of a housekeeping nature, and to the grade tables found in Schedule I of the Regulations. It includes an update of the scientific names of species listed in Schedules I, II and III, clarifications of terminology used, clarifications to better reflect the intent of the legislation or to better reflect current practices in the industry, the removal of fractional standards (e.g. 0.1 to 0), small changes to actual germination, disease and purity standards for some species, changes to the grade names for forage and turf mixtures and some additions to or movement of species within the grade tables.

(i) Update of nomenclature

The taxonomy of plants is under continuous review by the scientific community. Recently, there have been major revisions to the nomenclature of certain groups of plants (e.g. most of the Agropyron species listed in Table XI have undergone changes to their scientific names).

The names of all plant species listed in the Schedules of the Regulations were reviewed with the objective of updating the names to reflect current accepted practice. This will harmonize Canada with other countries and result in less confusion with seed traded internationally. It is proposed that names be changed to conform with the United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Agricultural Research Service's Germplasm Resources Information Network (GRIN) which has also been adopted by the International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) for its list of stabilized plant names.

(ii) Replacement of fractional standards in tables with zero

Standards that appear as numbers of seeds that are less than one but more than zero, in a specified sample weight, appear in Tables I, II, III, IV, V and XVIII (e.g. 0.1 per kg, 0.2 per kg and 0.5 per kg). As parts of seed are not common and indeed not an issue, this leads to some confusion as to interpretation of the tables in regards to the sampling requirements. It is proposed that the fractions be replaced by zero and that the Regulations be amended to allow a single seed of a specified weed class in a larger sample size (e.g. in 10 kg of crop seed).

(iii) Grade table amendments

Table I

It is proposed that the maximum number of ergot bodies per kilogram be changed from 1 to 2 for both Canada Certified No. 1 and Common No. 1 seed. Ergot (Claviceps purpurea) is a fungal body that replaces the kernel in the heads of many cereal and grass species. The major cereals are all susceptible, with rye and triticale being the most liable to infection because of their outcrossing nature. This proposed modification will harmonize the standard for ergot in Table I (wheat) with the standard in Table II (barley and oats). The change to the standard is well within the grain grade standards specified by the Canadian Grain Commission.

Table II

Proposed modifications have been made to reduce the seed purity standards for sainfoin and the vetch species listed in this table because of the difficult nature of producing seed of these crop kinds. Hairy, Hungarian, spring or common vetch and sainfoin are the only forage species included in this table. It is proposed that a separate table with reduced standards be created (Table II.1) for sainfoin and the vetches.

A lower germination standard for hulless species of barley and oats (e.g. 75% for No. 1 seed and 65% for No. 2 seed) is also proposed. Hulless seeds may be subject to more damage during processing because the embryo is less protected than in hulled varieties.

Table III

The germination standards required in Table III (cereal mixtures) should be the same as the standards for the individual crop kinds as established in the appropriate grade table in Schedule I. This is the current situation for common and durum wheat (Table I), and barley and oats (Table II). With regard to peas and beans (Table V), this would mean lowering some of the germination standards currently listed in Table III by 5% to 10%. Table III is to be amended by removal of Column IX. Subsection 7(11) of the Regulations is to be amended indicating that seed contained in a cereal mixture must meet the germination standard set out in the appropriate table for the species in Schedule I.

Table IV

A reduction in the number of wild oat seeds permitted in flax in Foundation No. 2, Registered No. 2 and Certified No. 1 seed is proposed. Flax is a poor competitor with wild oats, and significant yield losses can result where high infestations occur.

Since hemp is not currently included in any table within Schedule I, there is no germination standard. It is proposed that hemp be added to Table IV.

The sorghum seed industry in Canada has experienced difficulty meeting the 85% germination standard for No. 1 seed in Table IV, particularly in years when there has been an early frost. As a result, growers may lose a significant portion of their seed crop which must be sold as feed with considerable financial loss. It is therefore proposed to reduce the germination standard for sorghum to 70%.

Table V

Table V pertains to various types of beans and peas, as well as corn, soybean, sunflower and safflower. Beans and peas can be grown as field crops (dried), or as vegetable crops (both commercially and by home gardeners). It is therefore proposed that Table V should specifically apply to field crops only. Beans and peas grown as vegetables will be covered by Table XVIII.

It is proposed to lower the germination standard for safflower to the same as peas. Safflower has difficulty meeting the current germination standard which was established before there was much experience with this crop in Canada.

Table VII

The first varieties of Canola quality Brassica juncea were registered in 2002, and as a result, this crop type is being proposed to be added to Table VII.

An increase to the Canada Foundation No. 2 and Canada Registered No. 2 germination standards from 75% to 80% is being proposed.

It is recommended that oilseed radish (Raphanus sativus L. var. oleiformis Pers.) be listed in Table VII to Schedule I since it is grown as a green manure field crop and is of comparable seed size to the species listed in Table VII. Currently, it is covered under Table XIX. However, the less stringent weed seed standards in Table XIX are more appropriate for vegetable crops that are intensively managed than for field crops.

Table X

Bird's-foot trefoil was included in Table IX prior to the last revision of the grade tables and was therefore previously subjected to higher standards for germination and purity.

A review of certificates of analysis has shown that the vast majority of seed lots could meet a much higher standard than is currently required. It is suggested that at this time weed and sweet clover standards be tightened.

Table XI

It is proposed to move tall fescue from column VIII to column VII. Tall fescue is grown in environments similar to orchard grass and ryegrass, which are in column VII, and has similar problems meeting the grade standards.

Table XII

It is being proposed to add Poa supina (supina bluegrass) to the list of six other Poa species found in Table XII. There has been increasing interest in supina bluegrass over the past several years, particularly for use on athletic fields and golf courses.

Table XIII

The Varietal Blend Forage Mixture designation is to be removed. The Regulations will be amended to allow more than one variety of a species in a Canada Certified Forage Mixture.

Table XIV

"Grass" is being removed from the Lawn Grass Mixture designations and the Varietal Blend Lawn Grass Mixture designation is to be changed to Canada Certified Lawn Mixture to clearly reflect its pedigreed status. The order of the rows will be reversed to give prominence to these certified mixtures. The Regulations will be amended to allow more than one variety of a species in a Canada Certified Lawn Mixture.

It is also proposed that the minimum standards for purity be changed from 85% to 90% for the No. 1 grades, and from 75% to 80% for the No. 2 grades.

Table XV

Column VI of Table XV establishes germination standards for the components of ground cover mixtures composed of seed of two or more kinds other than forage mixtures and lawn or turf mixtures. The standards of 70% and 60% are very difficult for some species to meet. It is proposed that Column VI be dropped and that, unless the species is listed in one of the tables of Schedule I, no germination standard be imposed.

Table XVI

Table XVI applies to four types of the Beta vulgaris species—beet, sugar beet, mangel and swiss chard. Currently, the Mayweed standard applies only to beet and sugar beet. The Mayweed standard should apply to all crops in this table since contamination would cause similar production problems for all types.

Table XVIII

It is proposed that sunflowers and safflowers for home garden use be added to Table XVIII. In addition, it is proposed to expand this table to include all vegetable-type seed of the species currently listed, regardless of location or method of production, by removing the designation "for home gardens." Phaseolus vulgaris (garden bean) is currently not listed in Table XVIII and will be added. The pea column will be amended to include sunflower, safflower and chickpea. The word "sweet" will be removed from the sweet corn column so that the standards will apply to both sweet and pop corn.

The germination standard for corn will be lowered by 5%. Sweet corn, particularly the super sweet type, does not have consistently high germination rates making the standard difficult to meet.

Table XIX

It is proposed to add Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa subsp. chinensis and Brassica rapa subsp. pekinensis) to Table XIX. Production of these species has risen dramatically in recent years, responding to increased consumer demand.

"Vegetable" will be dropped from kale so that this table can be used to grade forage kale as well. It is the same species.

(iv) Miscellaneous

This proposal also includes some minor changes to the text of the Regulations that provide clarification or that are of a housekeeping nature.

In general, the proposed amendments constitute alterations of pre-existing provisions with little or no change in current activities or negative impacts on the general public or the environment. In some cases, they will accommodate practices that currently exist or clarify the intent of the Regulations. The proposed amendments will result in a reduction in the net regulatory burden. Existing regulations are being modified to address situations where the regulatory burden is greater than necessary and to keep with current realities in the domestic and international seed sector. Administrative, analytical and compliance frameworks are already established and are familiar to both industry and government stakeholders.

Canada has international commitments for seed quality through membership in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Seed Schemes and the Association of Official Seed Certifying Agencies (AOSCA). The proposed amendments will not affect Canada's ability to meet these commitments.

The following amendments to the Regulations are also being proposed:

The definition "officially recognized sample" will be amended to include samples taken by individuals accredited to do so by government bodies or officially recognized bodies that have the authority to regulate the import, export or marketing of seed, and to clarify that where a sample is taken by an individual accredited by a seed testing laboratory accredited by the ISTA to test seed, it must be tested by that, or another, ISTA-accredited laboratory. This proposed amendment would increase the range of options for taking officially recognized samples and would accommodate a USDA initiative to develop a sampler recognition program.

Reference to "samplers" is to be added to the definition of "conformity verification body," as well as subsections 13.1(7) and (12) in order to account for changes to the Regulations that took place in 2003.

The definition "official tag" is to be amended to state that it "means a label that is issued or approved by the Agency in respect of seed having pedigreed status." The change from the use of the term "tag" in the definition to the term "label" is intended to provide clarification by linking this definition to the definition of "label" in the Seeds Act.

The scope of paragraph 6(2)(h) of the Regulations will be expanded to indicate that seed intended for land reclamation, soil conservation, green cover, wildlife, wetland restoration and similar purposes shall meet the minimum weed seed and other crop seed standards set out in Table XIII of Schedule I, if of a kind or species not set out in Schedule I.

Paragraph 6(2)(j) has been expanded to clarify the type of product that is meant by wildflower mixture.

Paragraphs 7(1)(f) and (g) have been replaced as a result of changes to the grade names in Tables XIII and XIV of Schedule I, that refer to forage mixtures and turf mixtures, respectively.

Subsection 7(4), which indicated that seed heads of Malva spp. found in lentil were to be treated as a secondary noxious weed, was removed. A change will be made to the Canadian Methods and Procedures for Testing Seed to indicate that intact heads of Malva spp. (Mallow spp.) should be considered as secondary noxious weed seeds. If the seed head is not intact, it is to be broken into its component parts which will be counted as other weed seeds. The current procedure is to report intact heads (disks) of Mallow spp. under "secondary noxious weed seeds." For partially intact heads, the individual seeds are counted and reported under "other weed seeds." A seed head of Mallow contains approximately 8 to 10 seeds. Canada Certified No. 1 permits 1 secondary noxious weed and 15 total weed seeds per 5 kg. Counting individual seeds as other weed seeds instead of counting the disk as a secondary noxious could be a reduction in the standard, if no other weed seeds were present. It would, however, harmonize the testing procedure with other jurisdictions.

Paragraph 11(1)(b) of the Regulations will be expanded to include tests done by ISTA-accredited seed testing laboratories, using recognized standard methods. This amendment would increase the range of options for testing seed.

Paragraph 13(3)(b) is to be amended to change the wording to read "the seed is imported in a package bearing a label that was issued or approved by an official certifying agency and that indicates that the seed is of pedigreed status" rather than "the seed was imported..." This adjustment is necessary to respond to current realities in the industry where the grade of a seed lot produced outside of Canada is determined by an accredited grader in Canada and the seed is then labelled with the grade name in the foreign country before being imported into Canada. In addition, it clarifies that the label must indicate the pedigreed status of the seed.

Paragraph 23(h) is to be amended to account for the development of canola-quality Brassica juncea varieties.

Paragraphs 26(1)(c) and 28(1)(c) are to be amended to clarify that there may be situations where the variety name of a component of a forage or turf mixture may be included on a label.

Paragraph 31(2)(b) is to be amended to clarify that not all types of specialty seed are eligible for grading.

Sections 33 and 34 are to be amended to allow fastened packages containing 2 kg or less of seed to be exempt from the requirements to be labelled with an official tag as long as the words "Certified Seed" appear in a blue rectangle meeting the colour requirements and dimensions of the official tag and the other information requirements are met elsewhere on the package. These seed packets are small in size and generally intended for the home garden market, and the requirement to attach an official tag can be difficult to meet. In addition, clarification is made that the CFIA is to be notified each time an approved conditioner proposes to obtain such packages.

There is clarification to be made in section 34 to indicate that where a package labelled with a Canada pedigreed grade name contains any seed not produced in Canada, it must bear an interagency tag. This increases transparency by ensuring that the origin of the seed is clearly indicated.

Amendments to be made to subsection 34(5) to indicate that when the grade name is applied to seed before import into Canada, the Canada pedigreed grade name and the accredited grader number must appear on a label attached to or printed directly upon each package of seed. This amendment would accommodate the current situation where the grade of the seed is established by an accredited grader in Canada, and the information is provided to the labeller of the seed outside of Canada in order that the seed is labelled ready for sale upon import into Canada.

There is clarification to be made in section 35 to indicate that the unregistered variety tag is only used for seed sold in Canada. Seed of an unregistered variety that is produced only for export does not need to be tagged with an unregistered variety tag.

There is clarification to be made in section 37 to indicate that bulk seed must meet the information requirements outlined in section 19, subsection 20(4), section 21 and section 35 with respect to quantity, treatment with a pest control product, restrictions to registration and unregistered varieties. The information is to be provided on accompanying documentation at the time of sale of the seed. This is the current expectation but not explicit in the Regulations.

Paragraph 40(5) is to be amended to indicate that onion or garlic sets, tree seeds, shrub seeds, ginseng seeds, aquatic plant seeds, true potato seeds or flower seeds, except wildflower seed mixtures and herb seeds, will be exempted from certain import requirements. This is currently being done in practice.

Alternatives

(i) Status quo

Leaving the seed standards in their current form would result in perpetuation of several inappropriate standards. It would not respond to requests and suggestions for change and improvement that have come from seed industry stakeholders. Costs associated with the status quo include loss of some seed sales due to unnecessarily strict standards.

(ii) Revise seed standards (preferred option)

Amending the Regulations to incorporate modifications to the seed standards pursuant to a broad-based consultative process is the best alternative for achieving the desired result; i.e. that the standards for seed are appropriate, that consumers continue to be protected and that efficacy of field production through disease and weed seed control is maintained. The scope of the revisions has been centred around items for which there is broad agreement or those that are of a clarification or housekeeping nature.

Benefits and costs

(i) Benefits

The proposed amendments would respond to changes in production practices and industry requests; clarify the Regulations and standards, thus minimizing confusion in the industry; increase seed sales due to more reasonable and modernized standards; potentially reduce costs associated with compliance and enforcement; harmonize with trading partners; and meet international commitments. Standards established at a federal level benefit companies and private individuals by facilitating access to markets and maintaining high levels of consumer confidence.

(ii) Costs

Because the amendments constitute minor clarifications or alterations of pre-existing conditions, the negative impacts and risks will be minimal.

Costs to industry may rise where standards are increased (e.g. birdsfoot trefoil) or additional crop kinds are included in the Regulations (e.g. Chinese cabbage) as a result of the need for additional seed cleaning, seed testing or increased numbers of seed lots assigned a lower grade, but on the whole these incremental costs should be relatively low.

Costs are minimal compared to the annual value of seed production (approximately $700 million) and of field crop production (approximately $14.4 billion in 2004) in Canada.

Consultation

A general revision to Schedule I of the Regulations was completed in 1986 after a lengthy consultation with the seed industry. Since then, a number of further amendments have been identified or requested from a number of sources, including individual seed companies, the board of directors of the Canadian Seed Growers' Association (CSGA), government seed inspectors, and private seed analysts. Some of the suggestions relate specifically to improving standards for particular crop kinds, others to revision of the scientific nomenclature and still others have to do with efficient and effective enforcement of the Regulations.

In 1997, a Seed Standards Review was initiated to identify potential improvements to the seed standards in the Regulations and to reach consensus on proposed amendments. A document was circulated to stakeholders and interested parties on May 30, 1997, listing potential changes. Comments were received from approximately 20 individuals as well as a consolidated response from the CSGA.

The consultation period spanned over seven years with most of the activity taking place between 1997 and 1999 and 2002 and 2004. In June 1999, a Round 2 Consultation Document was made available for comment. Consultation occurred through the CFIA Web site, presentations at industry meetings and direct correspondence with stakeholders. The range of consultation has been broad because of the wide diversity of stakeholders who may be affected by changes to the standards in the Regulations and included seed industry members and associations, other federal government departments, provincial governments, regional governments and academia.

Modifications that were identified in Round 2 for which there was unanimous, near unanimous or general consensus for change from stakeholders are being proposed for implementation at this time. Therefore, the degree of acceptance is anticipated to be high. The modifications address a number of general issues, and specific changes to the grade tables found in Schedule I of the Regulations.

An update of the Seeds Standards Review was posted on the CFIA Seed Section Web site in June 2003 and was brought to the attention of stakeholders at industry meetings. The document listed most of the proposed changes that are being put forward at this time. No negative comments have been received.

In July 2004, presentations on the amendments were made to the national board of directors of the CSGA and at the annual meetings the Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada and the Canadian Seed Trade Association.

Compliance and enforcement

The proposal will result in more effective regulation and fewer compliance issues. Strategies currently in use will be continued to ensure compliance and enforcement of the Regulations.

Contact

Michael Scheffel/Christina Rowan, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 59 Camelot Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0Y9, 613-221-7518 (telephone), 613-228-4556 (fax).

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is hereby given that the Governor in Council, pursuant to subsection 4(1) (see footnote a) of the Seeds Act, proposes to make the annexed Regulations Amending the Seeds Regulations.

Interested persons may make representations concerning the proposed Regulations within 75 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be sent to Glyn Chancey, Director, Plant Production Division, Canadian Food Inspection Agency, 59 Camelot Drive, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0Y9 (tel.: 613-225-2342, ext. 7591; fax: 613-228-4552).

Ottawa, August 25, 2006

MARY O'NEILL
Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE SEEDS REGULATIONS

See complete notice at http://canadagazette.gc.ca/partI/2006/20060916/html/regle1-e.html