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This report tells the story of how the Centre took action to ensure a successful transition to the new regulatory regime by managing change, promoting compliance among regulated parties, and influencing global biosafety and biosecurity regulatory efforts leading up to and throughout the ensuing year.

The Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) conducts biosafety and biosecurity inspections to verify organizations’ compliance with the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act (HPTA), the Human Pathogens and Toxins Regulations (HPTR), and the applicable sections of the Health of Animals Act and Health of Animals Regulations (HAA/HAR).

The inspections allow PHAC to determine if an organization meets the conditions of its
Pathogen and Toxin Licence, as well as to identify deficiencies and provide corrective
measures to prevent serious safety risks.

"The Canadian Biosafety Guidelines have been developed by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) as an ongoing series of biosafety and biosecurity themed guidance documents. In Canada, most facilities where human and terrestrial animal pathogens or toxins are handled and stored are regulated by the PHAC and the CFIA under the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act (HPTA), Human Pathogens and Toxins Regulations (HPTR), Health of Animals Act (HAA), and Health of Animals Regulations (HAR). Regulated facilities are required to develop and maintain a biosecurity plan, in accordance with the requirements established in the Canadian Biosafety Standard (CBS), 2nd Edition. The Canadian Biosafety Handbook (CBH), 2nd Edition aims to provide stakeholders with support and guidance on how to conduct biosecurity risk assessments and the core components of a robust biosecurity plan to appropriately address biosecurity risks with the pathogens and toxins in their possession.

The Biosecurity Program (the Program) is Canada's national authority for the biosafety and biosecurity of human and animal pathogens and toxins. The objective of the Program is to establish and maintain a strong and comprehensive safety and security regime which prevents, detects, and responds to the health risks posed by the use of human pathogens and toxins.

The Plan for Administrative Oversight submissions are intended to be high level and provide an overview of the mechanisms that are in place in an institution or organization to administratively manage and control biosafety and biosecurity risks.

Online learning (e-learning) course enrolment totals by course and year for public and Catholic schools. School boards report this data using the Ontario School Information System (OnSIS). Includes: * course code * course name * online learning course enrolment totals by year Enrolment totals include withdrawn or dropped courses. A student enrolled in more than one course is counted for each course.

This guideline describes best practices for conducting a biosecurity risk assessment in an organization where human or animal pathogens, toxins, or other regulated infectious material are handled or stored. The biosecurity risks associated with the handling and storing of pathogens and toxins can be minimized through the application of appropriate mitigation measures identified through the risk assessment process.

The Centre for Biosecurity (the Centre) delivers a national Compliance and Enforcement Program under the Human Pathogens and Toxins Act and the Human Pathogens and Toxins Regulations (HPTR), as well as of certain provisions of the Health of Animals Act and associated regulations (HAA/HAR) in order to promote safety and security with respect to human pathogens, terrestrial animal pathogens (excluding pathogens that cause emerging or foreign animal diseases (FAD), and toxins.

This biosafety advisory is being provided by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) to assist clinical, diagnostic, and research laboratories in implementing proper biosafety procedures to handle samples that may contain SARS-CoV-2.

Canada’s Canadian Biosafety Standard (CBS), 2nd Edition, 2015, is a harmonized national standard for the handling or storing of human and terrestrial animal pathogens and toxins in Canada.