Improved Food Inspection Model
Final Model
Annex F: Exemptions

The SFCA is an act respecting food commodities, including:

• their inspection;
• their safety;
• their labelling and advertising;
• their import, export and interprovincial trade;
• the establishment of standards for them;
• the registration or licensing of persons who perform certain activities related to them;
• the establishment of standards governing establishments where those activities are performed; and
• the registration of establishments where those activities are performed.

Within the Act, in the section that provides the Governor in Council the authority to make regulations, paragraph 51(1)(w) provides for exempting, or permitting the Minister to exempt, with or without conditions, any item to which the Act applies. In addition, the paragraph provides that any person or activity in respect of a food commodity may be exempted from the application of the Act or the regulations or a provision of the Act or the regulations.

The existence of this authority within the Act provides some flexibility to manage situations in which it would be appropriate for the provisions of the Act or regulations not to apply to a particular activity, food commodity or regulated party without compromising food safety.

Different types of exemptions are provided for within the legislation currently administered and enforced by the CFIA. Some are more temporary, while others are specific to a commodity sector's operating environment. Exempting provisions often apply to persons or classes of persons who carry out a specific activity or class of activities in relation to a food commodity.

As part of inspection modernization and regulatory modernization initiatives, the CFIA is examining how best to:

• include exemptions within a single regulatory framework for food, and, in turn,
• administer and enforce the legislative provisions respecting exemptions.

As part of the exercise, the CFIA is assessing the exemption provisions included in current commodity sector–based food regulations made pursuant to the Meat Inspection Act, Fish Inspection Act, and Canada Agricultural Products Act. In considering exemptions, for example, it is not the intention of the CFIA to regulate the preparation of food for one's own personal enjoyment, or the importing of food for one's own personal use. At the same time, it is recognized that an exemption that permits the importation of food commodities that do not meet Canadian requirements may be required to meet specific operational needs of regulated parties; for example, a non-compliant food commodity is imported for further processing, preparation or conditioning in Canada. In these cases, it is expected that the final product would meet Canadian requirements if it is sold in Canada.

Further consultation on exemptions will be performed during the regulatory modernization initiative. In all cases, if the food commodity is intended to be consumed, it must meet Canada's food safety requirements.

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