Question Period Note: INTERPROVINCIAL TRADE OF FOOD

Q1 – Who has jurisdiction over internal trade of food in Canada? Q2 – What specific elements are included within the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's framework to address uncertainties related to domestic trade? Q3 – Is the Canadian Food Inspection Agency supportive of mutual recognition between provinces and territories?

R.1 - Trade in agriculture and agri-food falls under shared federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdiction:
• The federal government has authority over trade and commerce under the Constitution Act, meaning it regulates food that crosses provincial, territorial, or international borders. The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations set consistent rules for businesses trading food across Canada or exporting food.
• Provinces and territories regulate food and food safety within their own borders, including intra-provincial supply management systems and quotas. These differences can sometimes complicate interprovincial trade.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency works closely with provinces, territories and industry to uphold Canada’s food supply, which helps maintain access to export markets, while exploring ways to reduce trade barriers and improve the movement of food products across Canada. R.2 - The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are working with provinces and industry associations to identify ways to increase internal trade by assisting businesses seeking to apply for a licence under the Safe Food for Canadians legislation that would provide access to internal markets and export opportunities. This will help increase internal trade, while preserving a high level of food safety for Canadians and respecting Canada’s international trade obligations. R.3 - Currently, none of the provincial inspection systems provide the same level of protection as that provided by the provisions of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations. Allowing interprovincial trade based on provincial requirements could impact the reputation of Canada’s food safety system and put billions of dollars of Canadian exports at risk.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is creating an Internal Trade Hub to provide businesses with information on domestic trade resources, as well as advancing federal recognition of provincial and territorial food requirements without compromising food safety or international trade obligations.

The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) provides food safety and consumer protection requirements that apply to all foods for export, import, and or interprovincial trade.

The SFCR’s requirements for food safety and trade are based on the applicable international standards set for food by Codex Alimentarius (Codex) and for animal health by the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
The SFCR provide the foundation for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) to fulfill its mandate of protecting Canadians from food safety and deception risks and supporting international trade.
Businesses can be licensed both by their respective province and federally. However, only SFC licenced businesses may trade interprovincially, import or export food.
Work on internal trade has traditionally focused on trade in meat by provincially licensed businesses (many are small- and medium-sized enterprises), but it should be noted that 90-95% of meat traded in Canada (by volume) is produced under federal licensing and can therefore already move freely between provinces without restriction.
The CFIA is working with provincial and territorial governments and other government departments to develop options that will preserve the federal food safety regime. This would ensure that Canadian businesses have continued access to international export markets and that imported food continues to meet Canadian federal standards.
SFCR’s ability to facilitate trade is limited by the willingness or ability of some businesses to invest in an SFC licence that would enable them to trade domestically (or import and export). Trade between provinces is also limited by other rules overseen by provinces, primarily costs associated with transportation that result from misalignment of provincial transport rules. Additionally, some provinces have labelling rules that exceed federal requirements (e.g., Quebec has rules for bottled water labelling type sizes that exceed federal requirements and require unique labelling for that province; New Brunswick has specific recycling labelling requirements that must be met).
No province has food safety rules that are equivalent to the SFCR. The CFIA does not currently recognize the inspection system of any province as equivalent for the purposes of satisfying food safety and consumer protection requirements. Allowing interprovincial trade based on provincial requirements could put the reputation of Canada’s food safety system at risk and impact the ability of Canada to maintain and access export markets.
In 2021 Federal, Provincial and Territorial Ministers of Agriculture directed officials to develop pilots to examine regulatory and non-regulatory barriers to domestic trade for food products. Following this direction, the CFIA committed to work on three meat pilots:
• The Lloydminster pilot ended successfully when the amendment to the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR) was published in Canada Gazette, Part II in November 2024. These changes have made it possible for food producers in Alberta and Saskatchewan to trade safe foods into and within the city of Lloydminster.
• The Ontario-Quebec slaughter pilot aims to address the lack of slaughter capacity in the Abitibi-Temiscamingue region of Quebec by permitting the use of an Ontario abattoir to slaughter food animals and have the meat products returned to Quebec for sale. The scope and scale of this pilot are being finalized.
• The Ontario Ready to Grow pilot is exploring the possibility of enabling a small set of Ontario licensed meat businesses to trade interprovincially while working towards obtaining their Safe Food for Canadians licence.

The CFIA is also exploring specific supports that can be provided to food businesses to help them comply with the SFCR to access internal and foreign markets.

• Enabling competitive advantage and levelling the playing field for Canadian agricultural and agri-food products is a priority for the Government of Canada.
• Interprovincial trade of food is federally regulated. The Safe Food for Canadians Regulations are based on international standards that ensure the safety of food we produce domestically and import for interprovincial trade.
• In 2024, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency exported food valued at $64.4 billion for Canadian businesses.
• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada are working with provinces and territories to explore new ways to increase the trade of food within Canada.