Guidelines for requesting and administering Ministerial Exemptions for Fresh Fruit and Vegetables

Import and Interprovincial

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(Modified November 1^st, 2007)

1. Introduction
2. Gathering Evidence prior to Application
3. Application
4. Processing of Applications
   1. for interprovincial Ministerial Exemptions or import Ministerial Exemptions for produce other than apples, onions and potatoes from the USA
   2. for an import Ministerial Exemption for Apples and Onions from other places other than the USA
5. Payment of Ministerial Exemptions
6. Control of exemptions
   • Interprovincial
   • Import
     1. Apples and Onions Imported from USA
     2. Produce other than apples and onions, for which a grade has been established and is imported from the USA
     3. Produce for which a grade has been established and is directly imported from places other than the USA
7. Amendments to Ministerial Exemptions
8. Payment for Amendments

• Appendix A: Designated Canadian Food Inspection Agency Offices
• Appendix B: Request for an Exemption Form CFIA/ACIA 4685
• Appendix C: Example - Ministerial Exemption

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1. Introduction

The Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations, under the Canada Agricultural Products Act, are designed to ensure that all fresh fruits and vegetables entering into interprovincial or international trade in Canada are safe, wholesome and in compliance with Federal health and safety, quality, packaging and labelling regulations. Processors or packers are free to source their supplies from the area or supplier of their own choice provided those supplies comply with all the requirements of the Act and the Regulations. In the case where adequate quality and quantity of supplies are not available, processors or packers may apply to the Minister for an exemption to obtain non-complying product from another province or another country.

Provisions exist for the Minister or a delegate of the Minister, when there is a shortage in Canada of a type of product (or a suitable equivalent product), to exempt such products from the minimum quality (grade), labelling or packaging requirements in order to provide packers and processors with the supplies necessary to meet their needs.

The CFIA decides whether shortage exists based on evidence submitted by the applicant. If supply is available in Canada, the CFIA will reject the application or portion thereof until supply is not available. Price of the product cannot be used as a factor in determining a shortage under the regulatory requirements of Ministerial Exemptions. Health and safety requirements will not be waived under any circumstance.

Ministerial Exemptions will be granted only for repacking or for processing purposes. The labelling, packaging and quality requirements may be waived, when a Ministerial Exemption is requested for processing purposes. Only the labelling and packaging requirements may be waived, when a Ministerial Exemption is requested for repacking purposes. The quality requirement will be dictated by import or interprovincial requirements.

Individuals applying for a Ministerial Exemption are required to provide, at the time of application, evidence satisfactory to the Minister or delegate demonstrating that a shortage in supply of the product for which the application is being made, actually exists. Such evidence may be gathered from sources such as commercial suppliers, producer associations, marketing boards, provincial governments, etc.

Each organization contacted by an applicant is expected to provide prompt, accurate information concerning the present availability of the product including known suppliers and, if possible, future availability. The organizations do not decide or recommend the action to be taken with respect to an application. They may, however, be consulted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) regarding the possible effects that any decision may have on the marketing of that product.

The Minister delegates his authority to appropriate persons (called the delegate) within the CFIA. The delegate in the case of an interprovincial exemption, is the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Network Specialist responsible for Ministerial Exemptions in the receiving Area or Region. In the case of import exemptions, the delegates are the Director of Agrifood Division, the National Program Manager, Headquarters' Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Chief, or the Program Network Specialist in the Area.

2. Gathering Evidence prior to Application

To qualify for a Ministerial Exemption, an applicant must submit evidence that a shortage in available supply exists along with the application for exemption. The sources for this evidence are: 

• known suppliers of the product;
• producer organizations, Marketing Boards, commodity commissions, etc.,

(Note: Provincial Departments of Agriculture may be contacted to determine appropriate organizations or Marketing Boards); or

• any other information which may be beneficial to the Minister's delegate in determining the availability of domestic supply and/or considering the application for exemption.

In the case of interprovincial exemptions, the applicant may restrict the search to suppliers, producer associations or commodity boards within the receiving province. In the case of import exemptions, applicants should thoroughly search within the receiving province and neighbouring provinces.

Suppliers, associations, boards, etc., are expected to provide prompt written responses to an applicant's request for information. The responses should only indicate if supply is available or not.

In most cases, the CFIA will consider that the requested product is not available if no response is received by the applicant within three (3) working days of the receipt of the request for information. In cases where the suppliers, associations, boards, etc., indicate that suitable supplies are available, they must provide the applicant with satisfactory information on sources of those supplies, i.e., grower's name, address, telephone number and quantity available.

Certain associations or boards who are primary contact points for applicants may, however, establish scheduled responses to requests for information. In such cases, a response time of up to seven (7) calendar days may be reserved providing the association or board makes their response schedule known in advance both to potential exemption applicants and CFIA.

Evidence must be supplied in the form of letters, facsimiles, telexes, electronic mail messages or other means of printed communication on the letterhead of the organization having drafted the letter. Such evidence should indicate that a shortage in the quantity or the quality of produce requested exists and may refer to the availability of alternative produce or forecast future availability of the requested produce.

3. Application

The applicant completes an application for a Ministerial Exemption and submits it to the CFIA office in the receiving province along with the supporting evidence and payment for the number of loads requested. (See Section 5 Payment for Ministerial Exemptions)

A standardized Request for an Exemption to the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations form is attached to these guidelines (Appendix B). This form may be photocopied or typeset copies may be obtained from designated CFIA offices. (Appendix A)

The applicant is responsible for verifying that any product for which a Ministerial Exemption is requested is in compliance with any other applicable Acts and Regulations, e.g., Food and Drugs Act and Regulations, Plant Protection Act and Regulations, etc.

4. Processing of applications

Upon receipt of an application, the CFIA Program Network Specialist shall:

• review the application, and submitted evidence to ascertain the completeness of the submission; and
• ensure the proper payment for the Ministerial exemption is received

If deficiencies are apparent, the Program Network Specialist will advise the applicant and hold the request until the required information has been supplied or the proper payment has been received.

If the application appears to be complete, the Program Network Specialist will:

a. For interprovincial Ministerial Exemption or import Ministerial Exemption for produce other than apples, onions and potatoes from the United States:

• commence a review of the submitted evidence as is necessary. It should be noted that Plant Health requirements will be verified prior to the recommendation of any Ministerial Exemption;
• if necessary, seek additional information relating to the application from other relevant parties, including the applicant, in order for the CFIA to arrive at a decision;
• approve the requested Ministerial Exemption, approve a portion of it or deny the request if an apparent shortage in the available supply from domestic production is not confirmed;
• input the information into the Exemption Authorization System (EAS) and issue the ME. When the application is approved, the EAS will assign a Contract number to the Ministerial Exemption (Appendix B).
• print (on letterhead) and sign, a Ministerial Exemption for each requested load.

b. for an import Ministerial Exemption for Apples and Onions from other places other than the USA:

• commence a review of the submitted evidence as is necessary. It should be noted that Plant Health Requirements will be verified prior to the recommendation of any Ministerial Exemptions;
• if necessary, seek additional information relating to the application from other relevant parties, including the applicant, in order for the CFIA to arrive at a decision;
• recommend the requested Ministerial Exemption, recommend a portion of it or deny the request if an apparent shortage in the available supply from domestic production is not confirmed.
• input the information into the EAS for approval by Headquarter.
• upon receipt, the Headquarters' Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Officer will commence a review of the information inputted on the EAS and if necessary, seek additional information relating to the application from other relevant parties, including the applicant, in order for the CFIA to arrive at a decision; and
• the Headquarters Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Officer will approve the requested Ministerial Exemption, approve a portion of it, or deny the request if an apparent shortage in the available supply from domestic production is not confirmed.
• When an application is approved, the EAS will assign a contract number to the Ministerial Exemption.
• The Headquarters Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Officer will sign the approved Ministerial Exemption and a copy will be faxed to the USDA and to the appropriate Area or Regional office.

Other information such as border crossing, Plant Health arrangements or other comments may be included on the Ministerial Exemption form and may be included on the Ministerial Exemption.

When the application form is used to confirm that only a portion of the original application is granted, the CFIA officer will make the necessary corrections on the application and initial all corrections.

When an application is denied, the appropriate CFIA officer will notify the applicant of the decision, return the application with a statement that the request has been denied and return the applicable payment.

5. Payment of Ministerial Exemptions

As noted in Section 3, the applicant must submit payment of the fee with the application for an exemption to the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable regulations.

In accordance with Item 2 of the Table in Part 6 of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Fees Notice pursuant to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act, the fees prescribed for Ministerial Exemptions shall be paid at the time of the request for an exemption or the fee prescribed by this Notice be payable on receipt of a statement for services supplied by the CFIA.

The fee that is payable for a Ministerial Exemption conferred under Item 2 of the Table in Part 6 of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Fees Notice is $20.00 per load.

No refund will be given for unused portions of an approved Ministerial Exemption, except in the case where the Agency has terminated the Ministerial Exemption earlier than stated on the Ministerial Exemption.

When a request for Ministerial Exemption is denied, the CFIA will return the application along with the payment to the applicant.

6. Control of Exemptions

Interprovincial

Once a Ministerial Exemption has been approved and issued, the Program Network Specialist will forward, by facsimile, a signed copy to the appropriate CFIA office and fax or send a copy to the applicant.

The appropriate CFIA office, through the EAS will print the number of ME's that correspond to the number of loads granted. Each ME will be printed on letterhead and signed by the appropriate CFIA officer or inspector authorizing movement of the load. The inspection office will forward the ME's, with original signatures, to the applicant as needed. A signed ME must accompany each load.

Import

a) Apples and Onions Imported from the United States

Once a Ministerial Exemption has been approved and issued and signed, the Headquarters' Program Officer will forward, by facsimile, a copy of the Ministerial Exemption to USDA, Washington, DC and the Program Network Specialist in the receiving region. USDA will in turn forward the approved Ministerial Exemption to the appropriate shipping point office, while the Program Network Specialist will forward the ME to the applicant.

The USDA shipping point inspector will issue an inspection certificate certifying that this particular load meets the requirements of the Ministerial Exemption issued by CFIA under Contract number issued. This inspection certificate will be in the form of a Memorandum of Inspection for Canadian Destinations, (FV-205).

The USDA inspectors will assure, as a form of control, that the proper number of inspection certificates are issued and correspond to the number of loads granted.

Should a bulk load arrive at the border and is not accompanied by a proper USDA certificate, it will be refused entry into Canada.

b) Produce Other than Apples and Onions for which a grade has been established and is imported from the United States

Once a Ministerial Exemption has been approved, the Network Specialist will print and sign the number of ME's that correspond to the exact number of loads granted.

The applicant must ensure that the original ME's are at the border when the loads are to enter Canada. To comply with this requirement, the applicant could:

• provide the original ME's to the American shippers and the shipper would ensure that every load is accompanied by an original ME; or
• courier the original ME's to their Customs' Broker at the point of entry, to ensure that every load is accompanied by an original ME.

Should a load arrive at the border and not be accompanied by an original ME because the applicant has omitted to comply with the above requirements, the load will be delayed entry into Canada until the applicant can provide an original ME.

Should a load arrive at the border and not be accompanied by an original ME because the applicant has not applied for an Ministerial Exemption or has used all issued ME's, the load will be refused entry until an application for Ministerial Exemption has been received, shortage of supply can be demonstrated and the ME is approved and issued. If a shortage cannot be demonstrated, the load will be refused entry.

c) Produce for which a grade has been established and is directly imported from places other than the USA.

Directly imported means that the load is entering Canada without passing through any other country or is passing through a US territory under a US Customs Bond.

The control and requirements are explained under 6 b) and will apply in this situation.

However, where grade is not waived in the Ministerial Exemption, the applicant is required to notify the nearest CFIA inspection office of its arrival, whereby an inspection will be performed to ensure compliance with the required grade as per the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations.

Should the bulk load not comply with the required grade, the applicant will be given option for its disposal.

Failure to notify the nearest CFIA inspection office on the arrival of each and every load will result further control measures to ensure that loads are subject to inspection.

7. Amendments to Ministerial Exemptions

The applicant must complete a new application for any amendment to an existing Ministerial Exemption. The application for an amendment must be submitted to the Program Network Specialist in the receiving region.

In certain circumstances, the applicant may be asked to provide additional evidence that the product is still in shortage. This will especially be true at the beginning of Canadian harvest periods.

8. Payment of Amendments

No fee will be charged for an amendment to an existing Ministerial Exemption when the amendment is for a change to:

• the name and address of shipper(s);
• the quality requirements (i.e., grade or size); or
• the cut-off date.

A new ME must be issued and payment will be requested when the applicant wishes to increase the quantity from what was originally applied for.

A new ME must be issued when the applicant wishes to change the state when importing from the United States.

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Appendix A: Designated Canadian Food Inspection Agency Offices

Alberta
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Network Specialist / Agrifood Division
Room W1-03, 1115-57 Avenue North East
Calgary, Alberta
T2G 4X3
Telephone: 403-292-6746
Facsimile: 403-292-6629

Atlantic
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Network Specialist / Agrifood Division
850 Lincoln Road
P.O. Box 2222
Fredericton, New Brunswick
E3B 5G4
Telephone: 506-452-3453
Facsimile: 506-452-3923

British Columbia
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Network Specialist / Agrifood Division
4321 Still Creek Drive, Suite 400
Burnaby, British Columbia
V5C 6S7
Telephone: 604-666-7778
Facsimile: 604-666-1963

Manitoba/Saskatchewan
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Network Specialist / Agrifood Division
762-269 Main Street 
Winnipeg, Manitoba
R3C 1B2
Telephone: 204-984-6186
Facsimile: 204-983-8022

Ontario
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Network Specialist / Agrifood Division
174 Stone Road 
Guelph, Ontario
N1G 4S9
Telephone: 519-837-9400
Facsimile: 519-837-9772

Quebec
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program Network Specialist / Agrifood Division
7^th Floor, 2001 University Street
Montreal, Quebec
H3A 3N2
Telephone: 514-283-8888
Facsimile: 514-283-3272

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Appendix B

Request for an Exemption to the Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Regulations CFIA/ACIA 4685

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Appendix C

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Example - Ministerial Exemption