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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.

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 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.

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.

This report was prepared in accordance with the requirements of section 6.6.1.2 of the Directive on Internal Auditing in the Government of Canada, which specifies that the report must:
•summarize the results of the committee's reviews of areas of responsibility;
•provide the independent members' assessment, and make recommendations as needed on the capacity, independence and performance of the internal audit function;
•express views that are entirely and exclusively those of the independent members.

The number of applications completed by departments and other public bodies under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP Act) based on the time period for response for the fiscal year 2016-2017

Our Departmental Results Report is tabled in Parliament in the fall of each year. This report provides Parliamentarians and Canadians with information on the Portfolio's performance over the last fiscal year, based on commitments made in our previous Departmental Reports. Also included are financial tables showing actual resources used during the last fiscal year. The Departmental Results Report is formerly known as the Departmental Performance Report.

The number of applications received by departments and other public bodies under the Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy (FOIPOP Act) according to the type of information requested for the fiscal year 2016-2017.

In accordance with Section 72 of the Privacy Act, the Annual Report on the administration of the Privacy Act at NRC describes how NRC discharged its responsibilities in relation to the Act in each fiscal year. The Annual Report is to be tabled in Parliament in accordance with section 72 of the Privacy Act.