New bill could speed up farm product approvals by leaning on other countries

A new private member's bill is proposing to speed up the approval of agricultural products in Canada by relying more heavily on decisions made in other countries. Bill C-273, the Facilitating Agricultural Regulatory Modernization Act, would amend several federal laws, including the Feeds Act, Fertilizers Act, Seeds Act and Pest Control Products Act. It proposes a system allow products already approved in at least two "trusted jurisdictions" to receive provisional approval in Canada within 90 days of a complete application. The bill, introduced by Conservative MP for Bow River, Alberta, David Bexte, defines "trust jurisdictions" as foreign governments or regions designated through regulation. That could include jurisdictions like the EU, the U.K., the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand.