2022 to 2023 Departmental Results Report

From the Minister

As the Minister responsible for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), I am pleased to present the CFIA's Departmental Results Report for 2022 to 2023.

Thousands of dedicated CFIA employees work every day to safeguard food and prevent the introduction of pests, diseases, and invasive species. By supporting and securing market access opportunities, the CFIA contributes to consumer protection and food security to enhance the health of Canada's people, the environment, and the economy. The CFIA is also actively working to support Government of Canada priorities including, climate change, reconciliation and accessibility, among others.

This report summarizes how the CFIA has delivered on plans outlined in the agency's 2022 to 2023 Departmental Plan, including verifying that food sold in Canada is safe and labelled accurately, protecting plant and animal resources from diseases and pests, and ensuring that Canadian food, plants and animals and their associated products can be traded internationally.

The CFIA continues to modernize labelling as part of an overall coordinated approach to the federal food regulatory framework. Recent regulatory changes under the Food Product Innovation initiative will allow industry to bring new packaging to market to meet consumer needs and offer clearer information to consumers to help guide their purchasing decisions.

The CFIA's dedication and resilience in navigating new global realities, while continuing to apply a science-based, risk-informed, preventive approach to the delivery of its core mandate in service to Canadians should be commended. At the heart of its approach, the CFIA continues to apply a One Health lens, safeguarding plant and animal health, and enabling the protection of human health, the environment and economy.

The CFIA has demonstrated leadership and expertise when responding to and preparing for plant, animal and food emergencies. The CFIA continues to actively address potato wart and avian influenza, while planning and preparing for the potential arrival of African swine fever and spotted lanternfly, which could have impacts on Canada's pork, wine, fruit and forestry industries if found in Canada. On the international front, the CFIA is active in international fora and contributed to the development of the World Health Organization's One Health Intelligence Scoping Study, a report that identifies actions to develop an effective global One Health intelligence system and mitigate risks to global health security. The CFIA also works with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada to increase market access to Canadian products.

The CFIA is committed to serving Canadians as a trusted science-based regulator and delivers on that commitment. I invite Canadians to read the CFIA's 2022 to 2023 Departmental Results Report to learn more.

The Honourable Mark Holland, PC, MP
Minister of Health

Results at a glance

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is a science-based regulator of food safety and the health of plants and animals. The agency is mandated to:

• Control the application of the requirements of Canada's food safety system to enhance people's health and well-being
• Protect Canada's plant and animal resources from pests and diseases
• Facilitate market access of food, plants, animals and related products at home and abroad to support the economy

In pursuit of the goals set out in CFIA 2025: Building for the future, the agency continued its work toward creating agile regulations, advancing risk-based oversight, providing the CFIA workforce with modern inspection tools, and empowering stakeholders with digital tools so they can make informed choices and comply with regulatory requirements.

The past year was not without challenges. Fiscal year 2022 to 2023 saw the largest-scale outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 (HPAI) in Canadian history. Alongside federal, provincial and territorial government partners and poultry owners across the country, the CFIA took decisive action to limit the spread of HPAI and minimize the impacts on industry and trade. While there has been progress toward recovery, by April 2023 about 7.3 million birds in Canada had died or had to be humanely euthanized as a result of HPAI infection. The effects of this animal health emergency will likely continue to be felt for some time.

At the same time as responding to HPAI, the CFIA was actively responding to incursions of potato wart, Japanese beetle and hemlock woolly adelgid, and preparing for the potential introduction of spotted lanternfly and African swine fever (ASF).

Facing multiple simultaneous emergencies, the CFIA took a risk-informed approach to redirect resources where they were most urgently needed. Inspection resources were redeployed across the country and employees who do not typically work in an operational setting undertook non-inspection field activities. Additional inspectors were hired and trained, and investments were made in additional laboratory staff and equipment.

While emergencies were managed and critical services were maintained throughout 2022 to 2023, operational delivery and previously planned initiatives were affected. For example, inspection and sampling activity was reduced for some lower-risk programs. Although such reductions can be risk-managed in the short term, they should not extend into the longer term. Non-inspection work was also impacted. For example, work on voluntary third-party assurance programs was put on hold to allow personnel to be redeployed to emergency management functions.

An increased number of extreme weather events across Canada added an additional layer of complexity to both emergency management and regular business. From Hurricane Fiona in the Atlantic provinces, a derecho (strong wind storm) in Ontario and Quebec, floods in Manitoba, record-breaking heat and drought in Alberta and Saskatchewan, and wildfires across much of the country, climate emergencies meant that the agency had to quickly pivot to modified service delivery models to avoid interruption of its critical work and to support the agri-food industry across Canada.

Disruptions from these events also underscore the crucial role the CFIA plays in enabling the movement of goods through Canada's agriculture supply chains by ensuring that products going to market meet international requirements and Canada's high standards for safety. Supply chain delays, initially brought on by COVID-19 related restrictions and exacerbated by geopolitical events such as the war in Ukraine, continued in 2022 to 2023. Acknowledging these risks, the CFIA's role in supporting supply chain fluidity through international collaboration and standard-setting is more important than ever in today's interconnected world.

In this year of challenges and disruptions, the CFIA continued to apply a science-based, risk-informed, preventive approach to the delivery of its core responsibility of "safe food and healthy plants and animals." At the forefront of the approach is a One Health lens, which recognizes that safeguarding plant and animal health helps protect human health and the environment and enables economic prosperity.

Key actions undertaken by the CFIA in 2022 to 2023 include:

• Keeping food sold in Canada safe and accurately represented to consumers
  • Worked with Health Canada to advance measures that will help Canadians make more informed choices, including updates to supplemented foods labelling and introduction of front-of-package labelling requirements
  • Combatted food fraud (tampering and misrepresentation) through inspection and enforcement activities and by adopting new scientific methods, such as the application of chemical markers to detect food adulteration
  • Published the amendment to the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations and Food and Drug Regulations under the Food Product Innovation initiative in Canada Gazette, Part II, to streamline food requirements and support innovation
  • Continued to risk-manage and apply import conditions for high-risk imported products such as romaine lettuce and enoki mushrooms to keep Canada's food supply safe
• Protecting plants and animals from disease and pests
  • Mounted emergency responses to mitigate the effect of large-scale plant and animal disease outbreaks and safeguarded the health of Canada's plant and animal resource base
  • Used targeted social media ads and new online guidance to better engage, inform and communicate with people about the laws that apply when importing or exporting food, plants, animals and associated products via e-commerce, for example, imported seeds
  • Continued campaigns such as "Ditch the Dirt" and "#BeAwareAndDeclare" to promote biosecurity awareness among travellers and reduce accidental transmission of harmful pathogens
  • Modernized hatchery requirements under the Health of Animals Regulations to provide a more outcome-based regulatory framework that keeps pace with advances in science, technology and disease concerns while providing greater flexibility to stakeholders
• Enabling the trade of Canadian goods internationally
  • Worked with international partners and standard setting bodies to strengthen science-based international standards, guidelines and recommendations for food safety and plant and animal health to enhance safety, fairness and predictability in international trade
  • Supported the Government of Canada's trade negotiations with key trading partners like India, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Indonesia and the United Kingdom (UK) to enable continued international trade of Canada's food, plant and animal products
  • Established new market opportunities for key Canadian commodities like beef and cherries, and worked with trade partners to establish arrangements that support trade continuity for commodities at risk of being affected by diseases like ASF and HPAI
• Advanced key government priorities, improved delivery of internal services, and supported a just and equitable workplace
  • Supported Canada's efforts to address sustainable development and gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) goals through planned activities under its core responsibility, "safe food and healthy plants and animals"
  • Supported the Government of Canada's efforts under the Federal Greening Government Strategy by improving the energy efficiency of buildings, exploring fuel switching, and working to right-size and reduce emissions of the fleet. In 2022 to 2023, 59% of the CFIA's 27 fleet procurements for the year were 'green alternative' vehicles. The agency also completed an institutional climate change risk assessment to inform priorities and actions in the coming years
  • Launched construction of the Sidney Centre for Plant Health, a LabsCanada pathfinder project to build a new plant health diagnostic and research facility for Canada
  • Fostered innovation in the workplace through the Digital Enablement Experimentation Lab (DEEL) and procured new scientific tools to increase efficiency, sensitivity and testing capabilities
  • Took steps to modernize the workforce by equipping employees with digital tools to leverage a selection of apps, databases, and software in their workspaces and in the field
  • Adopted barrier-free workplace practices for all employees to foster a workplace free of racism and discrimination. In 2022 to 2023 the CFIA launched its 2023 to 2026 Accessibility Plan, which, when implemented, will strive to give employees the resources and support they need to make both the work environment and service provided to Canadians more accessible and inclusive

For more information on the CFIA's plans, priorities and results achieved, see the "Results: what we achieved" section of this report.

Figure 1 – Text version

• Safeguarding food
  • 71.5% of Canadians agree that the CFIA helps ensure that food sold in Canada is safe
  • 129 food recall warnings related to microbiological hazards, undeclared allergens, extraneous material, and chemical and other hazards
  • The CFIA has been working to protect you, your family, the environment, and the economy for 25 years
  • On average, the CFIA receives 2,150 reports of potential food safety concerns from consumers each year
  • The CFIA undertook 2,642 food safety investigations, the majority of which were related to extraneous materials, which are materials found in a food product from an outside source, such as metal, glass or hair
  • 80% of food businesses have a clear understanding of food safety regulations
  • The CFIA took action, preventing more than 100,000 kilograms of misrepresented food from being sold in Canada. These actions include destroying, relabelling or removing products from Canada
• Compliance and enforcement
  • 91.7% of plant inputs, products and by-products comply with Canadian regulations and relevant international agreements
  • 98.5% of animal inputs, products and by-products comply with Canadian regulations and relevant international agreements
• Economy
  • In 2022, Canadian agri-food and seafood exports increased by 12.4% exceeding $92 billion compared to $82.2 billion for the same period in 2021
  • 78 international markets were opened or maintained
• Emergency response
  • Highly pathogenic avian influenza:
    • 7,300,000 estimated number of birds in flocks impacted by highly pathogenic avian influenza across Canada
  • Impacted by climate change-related emergencies
    • Forest fires, floods, higher prevalence of pests, diseases and toxins
  • Potato wart
    • Potato wart impacts the economic return for potato growers by reducing yield and making seed potatoes unmarketable
    • 100% of 1,500 soil samples collected from across Canada (excluding Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland) tested free from potato wart
• Invasive species
  • Invasive plants in crops and pastures cost an estimated $2.2 billion each year by reducing crop yields and quality, and increasing costs of weed control and harvesting
  • 19,572 traps deployed across Canada to capture invasive insects
  • 20 distinct plant health surveys
  • 21,557 invasive species sites

Results: what we achieved

Core responsibility

Safe food and healthy plants and animals

Departmental result 1

Food sold in Canada is safe and accurately represented to Canadians

Description

Canada has one of the most rigorous food safety systems in the world. The CFIA designs and implements programs to verify that the food sold in Canada is safe and truthfully represented, and that industry understands and follows sound rules to produce or import safe and accurately labelled food. The CFIA works with industry, other federal government departments, provinces and territories, and international food safety partners via its food safety programs to mitigate public health risks, prevent hazards in the food supply system and manage any food safety emergencies and incidents.

Results

Modernizing the food regulatory framework

Despite shifting priorities and having to allocate resources to manage emergency responses, in 2022 to 2023 the CFIA continued to advance important initiatives as part of a multi-year regulatory modernization review. This modernization aims to reduce regulatory burden on stakeholders, provide greater flexibility, support innovation and changes in science and technology, and support domestic and global competitiveness for Canadian businesses.

A key regulatory modernization initiative during 2022 to 2023 removed duplicated or outdated industry requirements related to food product innovation. Regulatory changes of food labelling requirements in the Food and Drug Regulations and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

Promoting compliance

The CFIA regularly communicates with the public and industry to educate them about Canada's food standards and to inform them when there is a food safety concern present in the food supply. When it comes to food safety, clear, rapid communications are critical for preventing harmful food-borne illnesses.

When a risk is identified the CFIA has several tools to communicate with industry to support them in taking necessary action to assess their products and conduct proactive recalls as needed. For example, in 2022 to 2023, the CFIA issued a notice to industry in response to finding unacceptable chemical residue levels in certain imported fish and seafood products. The agency also provided guidance on Safe Food for Canadians licence conditions aiming at controlling the risk of Listeria monocytogenes (L. monocytogenes) contamination in imported fresh enoki mushrooms after numerous food recalls. These messages include practical considerations and steps to take to meet the regulatory requirements and to assist industry in providing Canadians with safe food.

As Canada's online food retailing industry grows, consumers and industry have identified a need for more information and guidance about products sold online. In 2022, the CFIA and Health Canada consulted with Canadians on the development of guidance for food products sold in Canada through e-commerce. This guidance, currently under development, will help retailers and other businesses provide online shoppers with important information in a consistent and accessible manner. Canadian consumers generally reported that it was difficult and frustrating to find all the information they needed to make an informed decision when purchasing food products online. The most frequently requested information was allergen content (including precautionary statements), ingredients and nutrition facts.

The CFIA continues to provide Canadians with information about the risks of, and best practices for, buying and selling food online through the CFIA's web page and various social media platforms.

Monitoring and enforcement for food safety and consumer protection

The Canadian food supply is one of the safest in the world, but no food safety system can guarantee zero risk. At any point along the supply chain, food can become contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites, chemical residues, or contain undeclared allergens or material such as glass or metal fragments. Protecting consumers by verifying the safety of Canada's food supply is one of the CFIA's top priorities.

As a regulator, the CFIA uses inspection and testing to verify compliance with the acts and regulations under its authority. When potential food safety concerns are identified, the CFIA conducts food safety investigations to determine the potential for illness or injury, the potential health hazard and the scope of that hazard. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA conducted 2,642 food safety investigations, most of which were related to extraneous materials. Extraneous materials are materials found in a food product from an outside source, such as, metal, glass or hair.

Figure 2 – Text version

• Food Safety Investigations from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2023

  	2020 to 2021	2021 to 2022	2022 to 2023
  Number of food safety investigations	2,569	2,529	2,642

• Food Safety Investigations by Hazard from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2023

  	2020 to 2021	2021 to 2022	2022 to 2023
  Allergen	269	331	337
  Chemical	220	165	154
  Extraneous Material	1,267	1,223	1,237
  Microbiological	660	701	802
  Other	153	109	112

The CFIA issues food recall warnings to inform the public that a food has been identified as posing a risk to human health. There were 126 high risk food recalls that had a recall warning in 2022 to 2023, and 87.8% of higher-risk food recalls occurred before an adverse effect was reported. This result surpassed the CFIA's target and demonstrates the effectiveness of the agency's risk management strategies for food safety responses.

The CFIA's risk management responses in 2022 to 2023 included:

• Escherichia coli (E. coli O157) in romaine lettuce originating from the U.S. between 2016 and 2019 resulted in temporary intensified import conditions that continued into 2022 to 2023 and expanded testing of imported romaine lettuce across Canada. Ongoing work with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and California Leafy Greens Marketing Agreement members has improved understanding of how pathogens such as E. coli contaminate produce
• L. monocytogenes contamination in imported fresh enoki mushrooms led the CFIA to add conditions to Safe Food for Canadians import licences for these products from China and the Republic of Korea to keep Canada's food supply safe

The CFIA's enforcement approach prioritizes protecting Canada's food safety system and animal and plant health while, whenever possible, conducting activities that support industry to achieve compliance with the Safe Food for Canadians Act, Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, Food and Drugs Act and Food and Drugs Regulations before enforcement is required. Licence holders found in non-compliance may have their licences suspended or cancelled under prescribed conditions, including where corrective measures have not been implemented within required time periods. Also, where non-compliances are designated as violations under the administrative monetary penalties regime, notices of violation with warning or monetary penalties may be issued.

• The CFIA issued 253 administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) in 2022 to 2023, including 89 notices of violation with warning and 164 notices of violation with penalty
• A total of $1,562,900 in penalties was issued by CFIA enforcement officials in 2022 to 2023. Funds received from penalties are collected by the CFIA and used to fund activities to support the agency's mandate

The CFIA notifies the public of charges laid against companies and individuals that stem from inspection and, as applicable, investigations conducted by the agency's Enforcement and Investigation Services for food-related offences of the Safe Food for Canadians Act, Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, and the Food and Drugs Act.

The CFIA works closely with partners and industry to promote and support compliance to avoid the need for enforcement actions. In instances where non-compliance occurs, depending on the severity of the violation or the escalation of enforcement actions the CFIA may recommend to the Public Prosecution Service of Canada that violators be prosecuted.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA had:

• 1 notification of charges laid bulletin published for Food and Drugs Act related offences
• 1 prosecution bulletin for a conviction registered against a company that was fined $7,500 for a Health of Animals related offence

The CFIA also accredits certification bodies to certify agricultural products as organic in accordance with the requirements of the Canada Organic Regime. See the CFIA's list of suspended and cancelled accreditation of certification bodies by year.

As part of ongoing efforts to standardize inspection and enforcement activities, the CFIA transitioned the results of inspecting slaughter and meat-processing establishments to a new, centralized digital platform, to bring this sector in line with the rest of the food industry. Operators can now access the results of their inspection online via their My CFIA accounts. Canada's robust food safety and animal health system and trade requirements remain unchanged and were not affected by the transition. Additionally, most hog slaughter operators transitioned from the Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point-based Inspection Program to the Post-Mortem Defect Management Program (formerly referred to as the Modernized Slaughter Inspection Program). The transition is anticipated to be fully complete by March 31, 2024. The analysis of compliance data gathered from hog establishments under this initiative demonstrates that the program is as effective as the traditional inspection system in meeting food safety requirements.

Food fraud can expose Canadians to health and safety risks, deceive consumers, impact market fairness, and decrease confidence in the marketplace. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA leveraged new technology and tools to further enhance its risk intelligence building capacity. Since 2019, the Food Policy for Canada initiative has given the CFIA $250,000 every year for scientific equipment to detect food fraud. This equipment allows for improvements that help the agency focus on high-risk commodities, verify industry compliance and carry out enforcement actions.

Food fraud is a global issue that has united many of the agency's partners to find a solution to this growing problem. The CFIA continued to collaborate with stakeholders, including other government departments, to tackle food fraud, strengthen international partnerships, and represent Canada at international fora for food fraud and food safety. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA worked with Health Canada to develop new laboratory methods that detect adulterated food and help advance regulatory application of scientific tools to protect Canadians. The CFIA published 2 studies that demonstrated applications for chemical markers unique to apple, grape and orange juices where dilution or substitution is suspected.

Keeping current on food fraud risks by analyzing CFIA-collected data and public information is important for the agency's work to protect Canadians. In 2022 to 2023, the first CFIA-Health Canada Joint Annual Food Fraud Situational Awareness Report on food misrepresentation was made available to other federal, provincial and territorial government partners via the Canadian Food Safety Information Network (CFSIN). This intelligence helped to identify priority areas of focus in monitoring and enforcement for the food fraud program, addressing areas of highest risk for Canadian consumers.

For more information visit the CFIA's food fraud webpage.

Canada exports approximately $7 billion worth of fish and seafood annually to more than 120 countries and imports approximately $4 billion of products from more than 140 countries. Traceability of fish and seafood is important for food safety, as a means of protecting consumers from misrepresentation, and for maintaining domestic and international market access for Canadian fish and seafood. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA published a report summarizing the results of joint consultations between the agency, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) on traceability for fish and seafood products, consumer protection and market access.

Salmonella and Campylobacter occur naturally in live poultry, and contamination can occur at any stage from the farm to consumption. These pathogens can cause serious illness to Canadians. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA developed and launched an enhanced Pathogen Reduction Monitoring Program (PRMP) to help food businesses comply with the Safe Food for Canadians Act and the Food and Drugs Act. Under the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations licence holders must have a preventive control plan and, as such, are required to have controls in place to control the prevalence and levels of pathogens in poultry products. Food businesses can verify the efficacy of their control measures, such as sanitary dressing procedures and antimicrobial interventions, by implementing the PRMP.

Collaboration

The Canadian Food Safety Information Network (CFSIN) is a $30 million CFIA-led initiative designed to improve the effectiveness of anticipating, detecting, and responding to food safety events and emergencies. The CFIA's promotion of the CFSIN in 2022 to 2023 increased membership from the previous year to more than 300 users from 16 federal, provincial and territorial partner jurisdictions. Some partners have shared food testing data on a dedicated CFSIN platform. The integrated data can be analyzed for national trends to improve the identification of food safety risks and help domestic food safety authorities predict and rapidly respond to food-borne incidents for a stronger, more protected food supply across Canada.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA worked with Health Canada to amend the regulations and provide guidance on front-of-package labelling and supplemented foods requirements. The front-of-package amendments to the Food and Drug Regulations introduced new labelling requirements for foods high in saturated fat, sugars and/or sodium. These changes provide quick and easy-to-use information to help consumers reduce excessive intake of these nutrients. The amendments were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II on July 20, 2022. To support the implementation of compliance and enforcement for these amendments, the Government of Canada allocated funding of $9,992,000 over 9 years, starting in 2022 to 2023, plus an ongoing $299,000 per year.

The Domestic Food Trade Pilots Steering Committee, led by the CFIA in partnership with other federal government departments and provincial and territorial authorities, examines regulatory and non-regulatory challenges that may hamper interprovincial trade in meat and explores possible approaches to addressing them. In July 2022, federal, provincial and territorial Ministers of Agriculture reached an agreement on how to reduce barriers to interprovincial trade with the new 5-year Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA worked with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to develop and share risk models in foods. These risk models focus on the steps in food processing that affect the risk of foodborne hazards. Developing and sharing these risk models advances a new framework for collaboration in risk modelling between our 2 countries and demonstrates Canada's commitment to regulatory cooperation and science collaboration.

Departmental result 2

Plant and animal resources are protected from diseases and pests and are safe for Canadians and the environment

Description

The CFIA's plant and animal programs are intended to prevent incursions into Canada by foreign plant pests and animal diseases, and to prevent their spread if they enter or are already established in Canada. Working closely with its North American and international partners, the agency responds to the effects of a changing climate and harnesses technological and scientific advances for continued reliable and relevant animal disease and plant pest prevention activities.

Results

Modernizing the plant and animal regulatory framework

To continue modernizing its regulatory frameworks, the CFIA advanced several initiatives in 2022 to 2023:

• Put forward amendments to the Health of Animals Regulations, published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, that will modernize the requirements for hatcheries and poultry supply flocks and help the CFIA and industry prevent and control diseases in poultry production systems, increasing overall food safety
• Proposed amendments to the Health of Animals Regulations, published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, that will strengthen livestock identification and traceability; improve the effectiveness of CFIA responses in disease outbreaks and food safety issues; support disease surveillance activities; and align with provincial and territorial oversight
• Published a "What we heard report" on the comments received during the public consultation on the proposed Feeds Regulations modernization. Final publication of the Feeds Regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part II, is anticipated for fall 2023.
• Consulted with employees, stakeholders and the public on proposed recommendations to modernize the Seed Regulations

Promoting compliance

The CFIA promotes compliance by raising awareness of regulations through messaging target audiences and by improving the tools and resources available to the public.

Soil is a high-risk pathway for introducing and spreading bacteria, fungi, insects, nematodes, weeds and other plant pests. These pests can seriously harm Canada's agriculture, environment and economy. In 2022, the CFIA launched its "Ditch the Dirt" application to promote biosecurity and modernize operations at the ferry terminals in Newfoundland and Labrador and protect against the spread of pests such as potato wart to other areas in Canada. This application allows CFIA inspectors to review, create and audit a declaration and, in the future, could allow travellers to pre-fill a declaration to exit Newfoundland and Labrador by a marine terminal. From August 1, 2022, to March 31, 2023, CFIA inspectors conducted 84,949 interviews and inspections of declared vehicles leaving Newfoundland via 2 Marine Atlantic ports of entry (Port Aux Basque and Argentia). The Ditch the Dirt app helps the agency promote public awareness and compliance and transforms a manual process to one that handles data collection and reporting digitally.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA continued to raise awareness of Canadian regulations that apply when importing or exporting plants, animals and associated products online. E-commerce is beneficial for both buyers and sellers, but some products that are sold online may not meet all the Canadian requirements and could pose a risk to people, animals, plants, the environment and the economy. Plant-based goods can carry invasive pests such as the emerald ash borer or diseases like potato wart. Live animals, animal products and animal by-products can transmit serious diseases such as ASF.

Seeds bought online may be invasive or carry plant pests that can be severely damaging if they become established in new environments, devastating agricultural areas, gardens, parks, forests and other natural areas. In an effort to manage the introduction and spread of invasive plant species and pests, the CFIA expanded its information toolkits to increase public awareness and enhance existing plant protection measures. The CFIA published new guidance on the ABCs of seed importation into Canada and launched several social media ads on the "do's and don'ts" of shopping for seeds online. The aim of compliance promotion tools such as these is to increase the number of plant inputs, products and by-products that comply with Canadian requirements and to better limit the spread of pests that have already entered and established themselves in Canada by targeting human-caused pathways.

Assessing potential pathways through which ASF could be introduced into Canada and identifying measures to mitigate its effects is a key activity for the CFIA. Throughout 2022 to 2023, the CFIA worked with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) to put measures in place at airports to remind travellers, particularly those visiting or arriving from ASF-affected countries, that all food and animal products need to be declared at the border to keep animal diseases out of Canada. The agency also developed key information resources targeted to various ethno-cultural communities and small-scale producers to help Canadians understand the risks of ASF and the importance of preventing its introduction. These measures help strengthen biosecurity at key points of entry and keep diseases such as ASF out of Canada.

Preparing for, monitoring and responding to animal diseases and plant pests

Since HPAI was first detected in Canada in December 2021, 9 provinces have reported cases in domestic poultry flocks, affecting over 7.3 million birds. The CFIA conducts HPAI surveillance activities to monitor for HPAI in domestic and wild bird populations and takes measures to control premises in Canada when it is found. For example, in April 2022, the CFIA, with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC), launched the Highly pathogenic avian influenza in wildlife dashboard. This dashboard, which is led and maintained by the CFIA, is used to quickly communicate information on suspected and confirmed cases of HPAI in domestic and wild animals in Canada to users globally. This interactive tool supports a One Health approach to outbreak response and helps Canada uphold international obligations for notification of new findings to the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).

During 2022 to 2023, the CFIA responded to 293 HPAI outbreaks across Canada and worked with provinces, territories and stakeholders to establish control zones to help limit the spread of the disease and minimize the disruption to the poultry industry. The CFIA also entered into 17 new arrangements with partners, including provincial governments and industry, to support data sharing, surge capacity testing and research on HPAI.

Close collaboration with the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance Network Laboratories benefited the HPAI response by improving processes for confirmatory testing at the National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease (NCFAD). The NCFAD also partnered with the network laboratories to validate scientific instruments that enhance HPAI detection capabilities.

A contagious and deadly disease, African swine fever (ASF) has been spreading throughout swine herds in parts of Africa, Asia, Europe and, more recently, the Caribbean. To date, the CFIA's prevention activities have helped keep ASF out of Canada. Still, as the disease spreads around the globe, the health of Canadian swine herds and the vitality of the pork industry remain at risk. Canada is the third-largest exporter of pork, representing approximately 14% of the global pork trade. The pork industry is worth $24 billion and contributes 103,000 direct and indirect jobs in Canada. To mitigate the risks of ASF, the CFIA has been leading activities in line with the Pan-Canadian African Swine Fever Action Plan (PDF).

In 2022, the Government of Canada allocated funding of up to $19.8 million over 3 years to help the CFIA strengthen prevention, preparedness and trade continuity if ASF is ever detected in Canada. With this investment, the CFIA has been consulting with the swine industry, from producers to processors to distributors, to develop national standards and establish a voluntary National Compartmentalization Program and an eradication strategy. In 2022 to 2023, the agency also expanded surveillance at abattoirs and developed new and improved diagnostic capabilities. This prevention and preparedness plan means that the CFIA and its partners, including other government departments and industry, are better equipped to take action if this animal disease is ever detected in Canada.

Potato wart is a soil-borne fungus that reduces commercial potato yields and makes them unmarketable. Although it is not a food safety risk, this pest may result in financial losses for potato farmers, affects exports, and leads to uncertainty in the domestic market. In Canada, potato wart is a quarantine pest and known to be present and cause damage to susceptible potato varieties in Newfoundland and Labrador (first detected in 1909) and Prince Edward Island, where it was first reported in 2000. In Budget 2022, the Government of Canada allocated $12 million in funding over 2 years, starting in 2022 to 2023, to support the CFIA's continued response to potato wart on Prince Edward Island. These funds allowed for the hiring of additional staff to meet the established target of collecting and analyzing more than 35,000 soil samples by March 31, 2023, as a result of the ongoing investigations that began in October 2021.

On April 1, 2022, the CFIA successfully re-established exports of Prince Edward Island potatoes for human consumption to the U.S. Since then, the agency has continued to engage with the Department of Agriculture-Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA-APHIS) and domestic stakeholders to seek feedback on revisions to its Potato Wart Domestic Long Term Management Plan and to complete ongoing investigations into detections of potato wart since October 2021. In July 2022, the CFIA requested support from a panel of international experts to obtain independent scientific advice on the management and control of potato wart on Prince Edward Island. The panel delivered a final report of its recommendations to the CFIA in December 2022. The report reflects the independent expert opinions of the panel members and will serve as one of many considerations that will help inform the CFIA's future decisions on potato wart management on Prince Edward Island.

Continuing to monitor for potato wart across the country is an important part of mitigating risks and supporting export access. Potatoes are Canada's fifth-largest primary agriculture crop. In 2022 Canadian potato growers harvested a second consecutive record potato crop as production rose by 0.8% year-over-year to more than 6 billion kilograms as a result of slight increases in both seeded area and yield. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA conducted the second annual Potato Wart National Survey that confirmed no potato wart had been detected in nearly 1,500 soil samples from 8 provinces across Canada (excluding Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland). This survey and other activities demonstrate the CFIA's ongoing commitment to help contain, control and prevent the spread of potato wart. These activities also support international obligations under the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and help maintain domestic and international confidence in the CFIA's management and control efforts.

The CFIA has a long history of responding to animal and plant health related emergencies such as HPAI. During large-scale and high impact emergencies, the CFIA's National Emergency Operations Centre (NEOC) is activated and a dedicated management team is established to provide strategic direction and coordination of the response at a national level. Figure 3 shows the NEOC activations that took place between 2004 and 2023 in response to animal and plant health emergencies across Canada.

Figure 3 – Text version

• Legend
  • Animal health
  • Plant health
• Timeline
  • 2004 to 2005
    • Avian influenza (BC)
    • Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BC)
  • 2005 to 2006
    • Avian influenza (BC)
  • 2006 to 2007
    • Potato cyst nematode (QC)
  • 2007 to 2008
    • Avian influenza (SK)
    • Potato cyst nematode (AB)
    • Potato wart (PE)
  • 2008 to 2009
    • No responses
  • 2009 to 2010
    • Avian influenza (BC)
    • Anaplasmosis (BC)
  • 2010 to 2011
    • Anaplasmosis (BC)
    • Avian influenza (MB)
  • 2011 to 2012
    • No responses
  • 2012 to 2013
    • Infectious salmon anemia (Atlantic)
  • 2013 to 2014
    • No responses
  • 2014 to 2015
    • Avian influenza (BC)
  • 2015 to 2016
    • Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (AB)
    • Avian influenza (ON)
  • 2016 to 2017
    • Avian influenza (ON)
    • Bovine tuberculosis (AB)
  • 2017 to 2018
    • Wheat (AB)
  • 2018 to 2019
    • Bovine tuberculosis (BC)
  • 2019 to 2020
    • No responses
  • 2020 to 2021
    • No responses
  • 2021 to 2022
    • No responses
  • 2022 to 2023
    • Potato wart (PE)
    • Avian influenza (Canada-wide)
• 5 plant health responses
  • Wheat (1)
  • Potato wart (2)
  • Potato cyst nematode (2)
• 16 animal health responses
  • Avian influenza (9)
  • Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (2)
  • Bovine tuberculosis (2)
  • Anaplasmosis (2)
  • Infectious salmon anemia (1)
• Responses by area
  • Canada-wide (1)
  • British-Colombia (8)
  • Alberta (4)
  • Saskatchewan (1)
  • Manitoba (1)
  • Ontario (2)
  • Quebec (1)
  • Prince Edward Island (2)
  • Atlantic (1)

Although resources were diverted to address new and ongoing emergencies in 2022 to 2023, the CFIA continued efforts to prevent the introduction and spread of other animal diseases of concern. The CFIA implemented safeguards to prevent the re-introduction of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), a fatal disease that poses a significant risk to the beef industry, as seen following the 2003 to 2005 outbreak in Canada. In May 2021, Canada was officially recognized by the WOAH with a negligible risk for BSE. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA worked with cattle industry stakeholders, veterinarians and other government departments on its BSE enhanced surveillance program to align with new WOAH standards.

The CFIA is also responsible for setting and enforcing import requirements that help prevent disease introduction or spread in Canada. In 2022 to 2023, the Government of Canada committed $20.5 million over 4 years to respond to the increasing risks posed by the trade of regulated animals other than livestock. With this investment, the CFIA continues to work closely with PHAC, CBSA, and other federal government partners to strengthen and implement import requirements.

In September 2022, the CFIA, in collaboration with federal government partners, implemented new measures that prohibit the entry into Canada of commercial dogs from countries at high risk for dog rabies. The new prohibition measures aim to help keep Canadians and their pets safe. Increased communications informed stakeholders about the changing import requirements. Since the implementation of the measures, the CFIA has not detected any new cases of imported dog rabies since the last reported case in January 2022. The CFIA contributed to a report published in January 2023 that detailed the coordinated, multi-jurisdictional response that was required to prevent infection of people and animals with the disease, which is more than 99% fatal once symptoms start to show.

Plant pests are a constant threat to Canada's plant resource base. They are responsible for crop losses of up to 40% globally and pose a serious threat to Canada's agricultural and forestry industry. To help protect and strengthen Canada's plant resources, the CFIA takes action to control the introduction and spread of plant pests as well as invasive species and diseases. As the CFIA focuses its resources on areas of highest risk, the impacts of managing concurrent emergencies created challenges for some of its day-to-day plant health activities during 2022 to 2023. This contributed to below target results for plant inputs and products that comply with Canadian requirements and for the programs designed to limit the spread of established plant pests in Canada. Nevertheless, the CFIA successfully prevented any new incursions of foreign plant pests into Canada, an improved result compared to the previous 2 years.

During 2022 to 2023, the CFIA prepared for the arrival of the spotted lanternfly, a regulated plant pest native to Asia that has been introduced to the U.S.. The CFIA developed its proposed response activities should spotted lanternfly enter Canada, worked closely with stakeholders to identify possible challenges and mitigation strategies, and made efforts to increase public awareness of this regulated pest. Spotted lanternfly poses a particular threat to grape, fruit tree and forest sectors, including wine and maple syrup industries. Grape wine is Canada's highest value-added agricultural product, contributing more than $11.5 billion dollars annually to the economy.

In 2022 to 2023, through its leadership role on the Interagency Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC), the CFIA enhanced survey capacity in support of early detection of plant pests and diseases in Canada and promoted collaborative responses with other government departments and industry to new and emerging threats such as spotted lanternfly, hemlock woolly adelgid, box tree moth and oak wilt. For example, work informed by the ITAC resulted in the detection of box tree moth outside of its known distribution area within Ontario, leading to the regulation of this pest throughout the entire province.

The CFIA also expanded and introduced new regulated areas when pests were detected in new areas, such as Japanese beetle in British Columbia and hemlock woolly adelgid in Ontario and Nova Scotia, and carried out targeted eradications in an effort to re-establish and maintain pest-free areas in Canada. These pests are highly destructive and pose a major economic and environmental threat to agricultural industries, nurseries, urban landscapes and forested areas. Establishing regulated areas helps to control the spread of pests, protecting Canada's plant resources and minimizing the economic impacts on businesses associated with treatment costs and production loss.

Collaborating domestically and internationally

The CFIA manages its plant and animal health programs collaboratively, partnering with North American and international governments, industry and academia to establish priorities, plan for scientific advances and strengthen risk intelligence on emerging threats. This improves Canada's ability to identify, evaluate and plan for potential events that can harm people, animal and plant health and the environment, and affect the economy.

One Health is an integrative and collaborative approach to safeguarding the health of people, plants, animals and their shared environments. This approach has been encouraged and guided by intergovernmental organizations such as the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the WOAH. The CFIA is motivated by and supportive of the One Health approach. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA's Office of the Chief Veterinary Officer created a One Health coordination group to serve as a community of practice and to provide a forum for information sharing and discussion on threats common at the intersection of people, animals, plants and the environment, such as HPAI, rabies and antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

WHO has declared AMR one of the top 10 public health threats. The improper use of antimicrobials in humans and animals contributes to the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria, potentially reducing the effectiveness of available antimicrobials for treating diseases and infections.

In an effort to combat AMR, the CFIA has been working to identify a wider range of safe and effective veterinary biologics and animal feed products in Canada to contribute to animal health and wellness. These include vaccines, microbial-derived products, immune-related products, and feed ingredients. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA worked to advance these efforts with other federal government departments, provincial and territorial partners, industry stakeholders, academia and international regulatory counterparts through committees such as the Council of Chief Veterinary Officers and the National Farm Animal Care Council, and committees chaired by international organizations (for example, the WOAH). CFIA subject matter experts also participated in domestic and international committees and fora, such as the Transatlantic Taskforce on Antimicrobial Resistance and the International Cooperation on Harmonization of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products. Experts from Canada, the European Union (EU), Norway, the United Kingdom (UK) and the U.S. were able to collaborate and share best practices to strengthen global and domestic efforts to counter AMR.

In Budget 2021, the Government of Canada invested $28.4 million over 5 years so that the CFIA, PHAC and Health Canada could continue combatting AMR. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA and its partners advanced work to encourage the responsible use of antimicrobials in food-producing animals. For example, the CFIA and Health Canada continued delivery of a pilot project that authorizes a limited number of veterinary health products (VHPs) for use in livestock feed that help maintain animal health and wellness, decreasing the need for antimicrobials. This will ultimately help reduce rates of AMR in Canada.

The CFIA also continued to advance its feed regulatory modernization initiative. This initiative will provide a sustainable regulatory pathway for the use of VHPs in commercial livestock feed, giving producers and the feed industry alternatives to antimicrobials by reducing the need for their routine use in agri-food production. This includes developing new guidance on the regulation of these products for industry and CFIA inspectors once the amended regulations are published. These efforts will help preserve the effectiveness of antimicrobials, prevent the spread of AMR in animals and humans, and support new research to spur further innovation.

Global health security is under increasing threat from emerging infectious diseases and the impacts of environmental change. The CFIA contributed to the development of the Quadripartite One Health Intelligence Scoping Study, which was published in 2022 and identifies potential opportunities to improve technical harmonization of global health systems to strengthen One Health intelligence. Global health systems must be able to predict, prevent and reduce the risk of ongoing and emerging threats to the health of people, animals, plants and ecosystems. Strengthening global One Health intelligence will support the identification and mitigation of risks to global health security.

In further support of One Health, the CFIA collaborates with health sectors at the federal and provincial level to share knowledge and increase preparedness against evolving animal-related diseases that could threaten Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector and economy, but also public health and wildlife conservation. For example, the CFIA contributed to the study "Monkeypox (Orthopoxvirus simian) in Canada: Human to Animal Exposure Pathway Analysis". This work, published in 2022, identifies key areas for more research that will help inform the Canadian approach to the long-term management of monkeypox, a disease that affects both people and animals.

In January 2023, the CFIA's Fallowfield laboratory was re-designated as a WHO Collaborating Centre for the Control and Epidemiology of Rabies in Carnivores. This is the ninth consecutive time that the Centre of Expertise for Rabies has been designated a WHO Collaborating Center. As a result, the CFIA continues to be recognized internationally for its expertise and institutional capacity regarding rabies. Through this recognition, the CFIA is contributing to the development of international standards for surveillance, diagnosis, control and prevention of rabies in animals and people in keeping with One Health principles.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA collaborated with Animal Health Canada (AHC), the Canadian Plant Health Council and provincial and territorial partners to discuss shared priorities and implement elements of the Plant and Animal Health Strategy for Canada. The CFIA serves as both the secretariat and a contributing member of the Canadian Plant Health Council, and supported the Council in developing and delivering 2 coordinated surveillance initiatives for monitoring of European corn borer and Amaranthus spp. that were piloted during the 2022 growing season. The CFIA also helped with the development of a multi-partner emergency response notification process. These initiatives have strengthened Canada's capacity for surveillance of plant pests and will allow for a more rapid and effective response to future plant health emergencies, strengthening the resilience and competitiveness of the agriculture and forestry sectors.

In collaboration with AHC, which includes federal and provincial government and industry representatives, the CFIA continued to advance Canada's collective preparedness for ASF. The Pan-Canadian ASF Action Plan guides priority work under 4 pillars of action: prevention and biosecurity, preparedness planning, ensuring business continuity and co-ordinated risk communications. 2022 to 2023 saw progress in ASF surveillance, diagnostic readiness, public awareness and trade risk mitigation through the finalization of national standards for an ASF compartment, as well as ongoing negotiations for zoning arrangements.

In May 2022 the CFIA's National Centre for Foreign Animal Disease was designated an ASF WOAH reference laboratory. Since then, the agency has worked with the WOAH and other regional laboratories, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to develop key linkages and collaborative initiatives essential for monitoring the movement of the ASF virus and to evaluate potential ASF vaccine candidates developed by other laboratories. At the same time, the CFIA worked with other federal government departments, provincial and territorial partners, as well as academia, to strengthen the collection of surveillance data on wild pig herds.

The CFIA continued to build a multi-partner response plan for foot-and-mouth disease (FMD), and collaborated with provinces, territories and industry through AHC to enhance FMD preparedness. In Budget 2023, the Government of Canada allocated $57.5 million over 5 years, starting in 2023 to 2024, to establish a foot-and-mouth disease vaccine bank for Canada and to develop response plans.

The CFIA participated in the codes of practice update process led by the National Farm Animal Care Council, a division of AHC. The updated Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Goats was released in November 2022 and the updated Code of Practice for the Care and Handling of Dairy Cattle was released in March 2023. These code updates are the results of collaborations with numerous stakeholders and set the standards of care for farmed animals in Canada.

As a member of the Canadian Livestock Transport Advisory Committee (administered by AHC), the CFIA worked with committee members to update their training materials to align with the amended transport of animals requirements under Health of Animals Regulations – Part XII, a positive step towards improving the humane transport of animals in Canada.

In 2022 the CFIA launched the first phase of pilot-testing of the Canadian Plant Health Information System (CPHIS), a CFIA-led initiative designed to strengthen communication and support evidence-based decision-making among plant health authorities in Canada. This first phase focused on new online tools to improve information sharing by creating virtual environments for collaboration and environmental horizon scanning.

The CFIA continues to be strongly involved in the Laboratories Canada (LabsCanada) strategy, a 25-year initiative led by Public Service and Procurement Canada (PSPC) with the mandate of supporting the renewal of federal laboratories and creating a national network of modern and accessible, multipurpose, world-class scientific facilities. A significant $2.8 billion investment was announced in Budget 2018 that launched Phase 1 of this initiative.

The CFIA participates in the Phase 1 LabsCanada strategy in 4 ways:

• Presenting the agency's point of view and requirements in all projects
• Leading and participating as a federal partner in the Regulatory and Security Science (RSS) Hub
• Participating as a federal partner within the Atlantic Science Enterprise Centre (ASEC) Hub
• Leading the Sidney Centre for Plant Health project

The Fallowfield laboratory (Ottawa, ON) is the main site campus for the RSS Hub and is one of 5 Hubs in Phase 1 of the LabsCanada strategy. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA completed the campus master plan. This is a long-term plan in support of continuing research and the development of functional and operational programs over a 30-year life cycle. It forms the basis for all future planned projects at the Fallowfield site, and has a vision to create synergies between science-based departments and agencies and serve as a catalyst for a collaborative scientific hub for future generations.

Considered a trailblazer for LabsCanada, the Sidney Centre for Plant Health has been under construction since October 2022. In March 2023, funding was secured to build the laboratory and administration wing. Construction of the entire facility is slated to be completed by 2024. When completed, this plant health diagnostic and research facility will increase Canada's capacity for testing, detecting and responding to plant diseases.

Departmental result 3

Canadian food, plants and animals and their associated products can be traded internationally

Description

The CFIA is responsible for regulating and enforcing the import and export of food and plant and animal products. The CFIA's science-based regulatory system for food safety and the protection of Canada's plant and animal resources is internationally respected, and Canada continues to earn the confidence of other countries as a trusted trading partner. The CFIA also serves as the foundation for advancing market access for agricultural exports while making sure imported products are safe for Canadians and the environment.

Results

International standard setting

The CFIA supports the development of international standards, guidelines and recommendations that are based on science and enhance safety, fairness and predictability in the international trade of food, plant and animal products. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA contributed to the development of international standards, guidelines and recommendations by leading Canada's participation at the IPPC, the North American Plant Protection Organization (NAPPO) and the WOAH, as well as by co-leading Canada's engagement in the Codex Alimentarius Commission with Health Canada. For example, in May 2022 the CFIA represented Canada among 151 countries and territories at the 89^th Annual General Session of the WOAH, where 70 international standards were adopted or revised related to animal welfare, disease prevention and control, diagnostics and vaccines.

The CFIA also led Canada's implementation of the World Trade Organization's (WTO) Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures. The Agreement sets out the rights and obligations of member countries regarding the establishment of food safety and animal and plant health requirements. Through its participation in the WTO SPS Committee, the CFIA helps maintain and strengthen rules-based international trade, supports Canada's trade relationships, and bolsters Canadian industry against protectionist trade policies abroad.

The government's ambitious agenda for trade negotiations resulted in intensified negotiations, with the CFIA as the co-lead for establishing obligations in Canada's free trade agreements on sanitary and phytosanitary measures so that regulatory requirements on imported food, animals, and plants do not unjustifiably restrict international trade, without compromising Canada's right to protect food safety, animal health and plant health. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA played a key role in the Government of Canada's trade negotiations with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, India, Indonesia and the UK as well as the UK's accession negotiations to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

International regulatory cooperation and science collaboration

The CFIA collaborates with other countries' competent authorities to advance international regulatory and science-based initiatives and help improve food safety systems worldwide. The agency does this by providing technical expertise, working to align regulatory approaches with key trading partners and leading negotiations on international trade standards. The CFIA works to enhance foreign competent authorities' understanding and knowledge of the Canadian sanitary and phytosanitary regulatory framework to facilitate bilateral trade.

These efforts support market access and help build a strong and predictable trade environment for Canadian businesses. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA:

• advanced market access with the EU through the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement Sanitary and Phytosanitary Joint Management Committee
• worked with Mexico and the U.S. to implement the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Chapter of the Canada-US-Mexico Agreement
• provided technical expertise in discussions with international partners involved in:
  • Food safety, including the Strategic Food Safety Dialogue between Australia, Canada, the EU, New Zealand, the UK and the U.S.
  • Plant health, including NAPPO, the IPPC and the Plant Health Quadrilateral Group (which includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the U.S.) to mitigate risks from plant pests and prevent introduction and spread
  • Animal health, including the Animal Health Quadrilateral Alliance (which includes Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and the U.S.), the WOAH Regional Commission for the Americas and the tri-national Animal Health Committee, on various topics, for example, ASF
• completed a multi-year technical cooperation project, funded by Global Affairs Canada, to support Senegal in the delivery of a capacity-building program for regulating agricultural biotechnology and developing a national seed-testing capability and quality control plan to establish a seed reference herbarium for Senegal
• engaged in regulatory cooperation activities with trading partners, informally and through SPS committees, to resolve market access issues and to support domestic protection from risks to food safety, plant health and animal health. In 2022 to 2023 the CFIA convened SPS committees with the United States, EU, UK, Mexico and the Republic of Korea to share information on domestic regulatory initiatives and activities. This engagement helped inform approaches to address challenges faced by regulators and explore opportunities to reduce unnecessary barriers by aligning regulatory systems and approaches to facilitate trade
• provided technical cooperation on animal health, plant health and food safety to least developed countries and emerging economies, including through the delivery of 21 virtual and in-person technical workshops
• promoted international harmonization in the regulation and assessment of biotechnologically produced organisms through the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development's Working Group on Harmonisation of Regulatory Oversight in Biotechnology
• entered 60 new or updated international science arrangements that leverage collaboration (related to resources, training and expertise) to combat ASF and HPAI and advance Canadian areas of interest with regard to food authenticity

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA successfully secured Hong Kong's recognition and agreement of the Canadian ASF zoning arrangement, which is in addition to the international arrangements currently in place with the United States, the European Union, Singapore and Vietnam. The CFIA also continued its work with Japan, the Philippines and the Republic of Korea to negotiate ASF zoning arrangements, and with Animal Health Quadrilateral Alliance member countries (Australia, New Zealand, the UK and U.S.) to establish bilateral zoning arrangements. Established zoning arrangements allow trade to continue from ASF-free zones in the event that the disease is detected within Canada. Such pre-emptive measures are critical to protecting market access as any detection of ASF in Canada could halt pork and live hog exports to countries where zoning arrangements have not been established. With the arrangements that have been secured to date, approximately 35.6% of Canada's pork meat exports would be protected if ASF is detected in Canada. Zoning arrangements were also established as a measure to mitigate the effects of HPAI outbreaks on the Canadian poultry market. For instance, in October 2022, Canada successfully established an HPAI zoning arrangement with the Philippines.

International market access support

Canadian producers depend heavily on Canada's ability to export around the world. Responding to growing challenges in the global trade environment, such as protectionism, shifting consumer preferences, fraud and plant and animal diseases, is critical to providing market access support for Canadian businesses.

The CFIA, with its partners, continues to enhance Canada's market presence by maintaining, re-opening and expanding market access for Canadian products. For example, between May 2022 and March 2023, after the UK amended its import requirements as a result of leaving the EU, the CFIA worked extensively to maintain Canada's eligibility to export 296 products to the UK.

Maintaining and expanding market access is especially crucial for key Canadian commodities like beef. In 2022 to 2023, Canada gained full access to export beef to Japan. Under Canada's new Indo-Pacific Strategy, the government will continue to strengthen its regional partnerships with key regulatory counterparts in the Asia-Pacific region.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA continued to grow bilateral trade relationships to provide more opportunities for Canadian producers to diversify their exports in the Indo-Pacific region. For example, in August 2022, the CFIA successfully leveraged the Canada-Korea Free Trade Agreement (CKFTA) to gain market access for British Columbia's high-quality fresh cherries, a growing Canadian industry that reached $78 million in global exports in 2021. Since the implementation of the CKFTA in 2015, the Republic of Korea has become the sixth-largest export destination for Canadian agri-food and seafood products. Exports have increased by 43.5% since 2015, to a total of $594.7 million in 2022.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA continued work to reinstate market access for products and establishments affected by international suspensions. For example, on May 18, 2022, China lifted its suspension of 2 Canadian canola-exporting companies and reinstated their eligibility to export canola seed to China. Both companies had been suspended since March 2019. In December 2022, the first canola seed shipments from the reinstated companies were successfully discharged in China. In addition, from July 2022 to January 2023, China reinstated the eligibility of 8 Canadian pork establishments to export pork products to China. These establishments had been suspended since 2020 due to China's COVID-19 containment measures.

The CFIA collaborates with other countries' competent authorities to help prevent unsafe food from entering the marketplace and to maintain market access for Canadian products. For example, the CFIA conducts foreign audits and assessments to help the exporting country operate its systems and make sure imported products meet Canadian food safety objectives and equivalency arrangements. This also helps to inform risk management strategies.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA developed a science-based food safety risk model (Food Imports Risk Explorer, or FIRE) to assess and rank imported food safety risks. The CFIA will use the results of the model to help prioritize which countries and commodities to focus on under the foreign audit program. The FIRE model supports risk-informed, evidence-based program design and decision-making, improving protection of Canadians and Canada's food supply.

Competent authorities from other countries also conduct audits of Canada's food inspection systems to verify compliance with their own regulatory requirements for imports. Such audits keep markets open to Canadian products. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA hosted incoming audits by 6 foreign competent authorities including:

• Taiwan: apples; beef
• Japan: hay; peppers; ASF; processed beef and bison meat
• India: pulses
• EU: meat (beef and pork); chemical residues
• US: meat, poultry and processed egg; potato and onion
• China: 13 virtual audits for aquatic animals; 10 establishments; 3 fishing vessels

These activities strengthen the CFIA's working relationships with foreign competent authorities, putting Canada and other countries in a stronger position to respond to food safety issues, and promoting consumer confidence in imported foods. They also support industry by strengthening the safety of foods available for export to Canada, and contribute to market access benefits by enabling Canadians to have access to more diverse foods, while Canadian exporters have increased access to foreign markets.

On January 30, 2023, the CFIA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Secretariat for Agriculture and Rural Development of the United Mexican States recognizing the two national organic systems as equivalent. The Canada-Mexico Organic Equivalency Arrangement came into effect on February 15, 2023. It allows products certified under the Canada Organic Regime or the Mexican organic standard to be sold and labelled as organic in both countries. This arrangement gives Canadians a greater number of food choices that meet Canada's high organic standards requirements and expands market access for Canada's rapidly expanding organic industry, currently estimated to be the fifth-largest in the world and one of the fastest-growing sectors in Canada.

The CFIA's work to support market access in 2022 to 2023 resulted in 78 issues that were resolved to open or maintain access to international markets, representing an increase of more than 8% compared to 2021 to 2022, and exceeding the agency's target of 75. This result illustrates the important role the CFIA plays as a facilitator of Canada's economic growth and crucial international trade relationships.

Gender-based analysis plus

The CFIA is committed to ensuring that its programs and policies are informed by, and developed with, an intersectional GBA Plus lens. In 2022, the CFIA completed the first year of a 4-year GBA Plus data collection strategy which will enable the CFIA to collect available demographic and geographic data in relation to its performance indicators, and assess any data gaps. Since then, the agency has continued to gather and monitor relevant qualitative and quantitative internal GBA Plus data, to establish a baseline that can inform decision-making. CFIA officials focused on strengthening the agency's knowledge of GBA Plus through internal presentations and ongoing collaboration. The CFIA also celebrated the tenth edition of GBA Plus awareness week with an event that highlighted how applying GBA Plus and integrating it into analysis and program design can lead to more responsive and inclusive initiatives.

The continued implementation of the Health Portfolio Sex and Gender-Based Analysis Policy will allow for a greater understanding of how the CFIA's programs, policies, and services affect underrepresented and vulnerable populations.

United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals

The CFIA's results under its core responsibility directly supported Canada's efforts to address the UN 2030 Agenda, in particular:

• Sustainable development goal (SDG) 2, "zero hunger": the CFIA protected the health and well-being of Canadians from diseases that may be transmitted from animals to humans by enforcing and promoting compliance requirements in food establishments, investigating and managing food recalls, and removing unsafe food from the marketplace
• SDG 3, "good health and well-being," and SDG 6 "clean water and sanitation": the CFIA enforced fertilizer and supplement registrations and safety standards
• SDG 12, "responsible consumption and production," and SDG 15 "life on land": the CFIA managed invasive species in nature through outreach and awareness activities and campaigns
• SDG 13, "climate action": in 2022 to 2023, the CFIA completed a preliminary Climate Risk Vulnerability Assessment, which identified and evaluated the risks posed by the impacts of climate change to the agency's assets, services and operations across the country

Innovation

The CFIA works to protect the safety and economic viability of Canada's food, plant, and animal resources and is embracing new technology by increasing access to digital-first tools and services. In 2022 to 2023, progress toward digitization included expanding online services for livestock feed pre-market assessments, requests for new product registrations regulated under Part V of the Seeds Regulations and research authorizations for fertilizer through the My CFIA portal.

In 2022, the CFIA worked to drive change through integrated business risk management, information management, innovation, business development and technology solutions. Despite the disruptions and urgent priorities brought on by emergency response, the CFIA remained committed to supporting innovation and testing new hypotheses and ideas. The Digital Enablement Experimentation Lab (DEEL), a specialized unit within the CFIA, tests the potential of new technologies as digital business solutions. In 2022 to 2023, the DEEL:

• helped develop a virtual testing platform for the delivery of the Seed Analyst Accreditation exam in a fully online setting. Hosting these exams in an online setting allowed the CFIA to facilitate more exams each year and enabled a higher number of analysts to be accredited. More accredited analysts directly results in additional inspection and testing of seed products, benefitting Canadians with safer seed products
• provided expert research and advice to the National Seed Herbarium to procure a 3D printer to create more realistic physical models of seeds for training and knowledge transfer within the agency's inspectorate. Access to realistic models equips inspectors more effectively, contributing to successful inspections and safer food products
• helped transform an in-person training course on how to inspect the integrity of a metal food can to a fully virtual setting that includes an interactive 360-degree model of cans. This online training allows front-line CFIA inspectors to be fully equipped with the information they require to keep Canadians safe on a daily basis

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA provided $1.3 million in grants and contracts to Canadian small businesses through the Innovative Solutions Canada (ISC) program. The ISC program is designed to stimulate the growth of Canadian small businesses while providing federal departments and agencies with opportunities to develop new capabilities to meet their functional program delivery needs. This funding supported the development of a prototype to accurately and rapidly identify the best vaccine candidate in the event of an FMD outbreak. This new innovative tool may help mitigate the effects of an FMD outbreak, which is critical for maintaining trade and food security. Under the ISC program, the CFIA also completed testing of a tool that uses artificial intelligence and machine learning to enrich the content, attributes and classification of electronic documents that could provide improvements to how the agency manages and accesses its information assets. The test included documents of business value from the CFIA's official corporate repository and shared drives. This could lead to considerable efficiencies and increased accuracy of electronic information resulting in better service delivery, information management and reducing risks of inaccurately classified information.

As new phytosanitary challenges arise and science continues to advance, the CFIA's tools and techniques must also evolve to continue delivering robust plant protection programs in support of the agency's mandate and international obligations. To keep pace, the CFIA performs regulatory and innovative research aimed at generating novel solutions for diagnostic testing, decision-making and maintaining market access. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA and 7 collaborating organizations completed a 6-year Genome Canada project that harnessed the power of genomics to develop cutting-edge tools for detecting, identifying, and assessing the risks of some of the most menacing forest pests, including the Asian longhorned beetle, spongy moth, Dutch elm disease and sudden oak death. The BioSurveillance of Alien Forest Enemies (BioSAFE) project assembled a multi-disciplinary team from across the country to build global reference collections of the organisms, identify markers diagnostic of geographic origin, and discover candidate genes associated with invasiveness traits such as virulence, host range, wood infecting ability, overwintering and flight capacity. The tools this project delivered have modernized the CFIA's regulatory toolkit by providing new methods and information for assessing invasive threats and strengthening risk intelligence against forest pests, strengthening and protecting Canada's forest industries.

The CFIA performs research on new and innovative techniques to enhance monitoring capacity that can be applied in the field and laboratory. In March 2023, the CFIA completed a project in collaboration with AAFC that assessed plant virus surveillance using honey bees. Honey bees offer advantages over traditional monitoring methods as they are capable of collecting pollen from multiple plants in a large area more efficiently and effectively than manual surveys. CFIA researchers provided expertise to assess pollen samples using advanced and affordable methods for analyzing complex environmental samples. The research demonstrates that these new methods are a novel and cost-effective way to increase the CFIA's capacity for early detection of plant pathogens of concern, which is crucial for protecting Canada's agriculture and ecosystem health. Preliminary results of this research were published in a paper, in collaboration with AAFC and the University of Victoria, that assessed honey bees as biomonitors of environmental contaminants, pathogens and climate change (Cunningham et al., 2022).

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA also verified and implemented a method for detecting infectious bovine rhinotracheitis (IBR), a contagious respiratory disease in cattle. This method is less labour-intensive and has significantly reduced processing time. Additionally, it is more affordable than other methods and is accepted and used as a standard method both in Canadian veterinary diagnostic laboratories and by the IBR reference laboratory of the WOAH in the UK.

To support the agency's efforts to protect plants from invasive insect and plant species, in 2022 to 2023 the CFIA's AI-Lab implemented an artificial intelligence project that harnesses data from the iNaturalist website, a popular nature website that helps users identify plants and animals, to vigilantly monitor invasive insect and plant species. This project utilizes advanced machine learning techniques, with a focus on natural language processing, to precisely identify invasive species by examining textual data. The system has been programmed to send daily alerts to biologists at the CFIA, enabling them to respond promptly and accurately to any identified threats.

Key risks

Results achieved

The following table shows, for safe food and healthy plants and animals, the results achieved, the performance indicators, the targets and the target dates for 2022 to 2023, and the actual results for the 3 most recent fiscal years for which actual results are available.

Financial, human resources and performance information for the CFIA's program inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

The following table shows, for safe food and healthy plants and animals, budgetary spending for 2022 to 2023, as well as actual spending for that year.

Agency actual spending was higher than the plan mainly due to statutory compensation payments related to the avian influenza outbreak, operating expenses attributed to the avian influenza emergency response, and funding received in-year. The agency received funding in-year:

• to increase food inspection capacity and safeguard the integrity of Canada's food safety system (COVID-19)
• for supporting a post-pandemic agile workforce and long-term digital transformation;
• to address the potato wart crisis in Prince Edward Island
• for preparedness, prevention and trade continuity in response to ASF, and
• for the preparedness and prevention of disease outbreaks related to the trade of regulated animals other than livestock

Financial, human resources and performance information for the CFIA's program inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department needed to fulfill this core responsibility for 2022 to 2023.

Agency actual full-time equivalents was higher than the plan mainly due to operating expenses attributed to the avian influenza emergency response and funding received in-year. The agency received funding in-year:

• to increase food inspection capacity and safeguard the integrity of Canada's food safety system (COVID-19)
• for supporting a post-pandemic agile workforce and long-term digital transformation;
• to address the potato wart crisis in Prince Edward Island
• for preparedness, prevention and trade continuity in response to ASF, and
• for the preparedness and prevention of disease outbreaks related to the trade of regulated animals other than livestock

Financial, human resources and performance information for the CFIA's program inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Internal services

Description

Internal services are those groups of related activities and resources that the federal government considers to be services in support of programs and/or required to meet corporate obligations of an organization. Internal services refers to the activities and resources of the 10 distinct service categories that support program delivery in the organization, regardless of the internal services delivery model in a department. The 10 service categories are:

• acquisition management services
• communication services
• financial management services
• human resources management services
• information management services
• information technology services
• legal services
• material management services
• management and oversight services
• real property management services

Figure 4 – Text version

• More than 330,000 people follow the CFIA on social media
• More than 6,700 employees nationwide
• More than 120 office locations across Canada
• 13 laboratories across Canada
• 13 ports of entry
• Legend:
  • Laboratory
  • Office
  • Port of entry

The following are some 2022 to 2023 results highlights related to the CFIA's internal services.

Supporting a healthy and respectful workplace

The scope, frequency and length of recent emergencies have taxed the CFIA's response capacity even as it continues to deliver its core business activities. Given the increased probability of large-scale outbreaks due to the effects of climate change, as an example, it is likely that responding to events will continue to increase in complexity. In 2022 to 2023, the agency set up the Emergency Management Task Force to support the development of a strategy for long-term sustainability of resources and activities as these relate to emergency response management.

In an effort to maintain a psychologically healthy and safe workplace, despite the disruption and uncertainty caused by multiple emergencies, mental health remained a key focus. The CFIA provided training and education in mental health literacy for managers and employees to reduce mental health stigmas, hosted awareness events, and increased communications and promotions about mental health and creating a healthy, safe, respectful and inclusive workplace across the agency.

The CFIA introduced the Charter for Interacting at Work to encourage employees and managers to work together harmoniously and accept, respect and appreciate differences, take care of themselves and each other, create moments for laughter, celebrate successes and help to promote and inspire others to bring positivity, respect, inclusivity and trust within the agency. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA also continued to expand its national case management service delivery program, which provides support to managers for workplace accommodations, inclusive of duty to accommodate and disability management practices.

Building a diverse and inclusive workforce

The CFIA supports the Government of Canada's calls for an inclusive and accessible workforce. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA launched the 2023 to 2026 Accessibility Plan as part of its broader Diversity and Inclusion Strategy and Action Plan 2022 to 2025. The Accessibility Plan describes the CFIA's vision of establishing, maintaining and supporting a fully accessible, respectful and inclusive workplace that values and enables people with different abilities. Implementing this plan will give employees the resources and support they need to make both the work environment and service provided to Canadians more accessible and inclusive.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA developed new mechanisms to allow for personal gender pronouns to appear in MS Teams for employees who add their pronouns to their digital profiles, and for gender non-conforming individuals to use their chosen name in online identifiers (including their email display name) to mitigate the potential harm of dead-naming and misgendering employees.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA joined the Federal Interdepartmental Indigenous STEM Cluster (I-STEM). STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and I-STEM seeks to increase and expand support for Indigenous priorities in environmental stewardship, research and technology development through departmental policies, programs and STEM activities. In support of this initiative, the CFIA hired a full-time Departmental Liaison to serve as its I-STEM Cluster representative.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA continued the Indigenous Liaison Officer role within the emergency response structure. The Indigenous Liaison Officer acts as a point of contact for issues affecting Indigenous communities and territories, providing leadership within the emergency response structure on Indigenous rights and engagements with Indigenous communities.

The CFIA's National Indigenous Advisory Circle (NIAC) is made up of members from across Canada who work together as an advisory body for Indigenous awareness, outreach, recruitment and staffing. This group serves as a voice and catalyst in support of Indigenous peoples' career aspirations for recruitment, retention, advancement and a healthy workplace at all levels within the agency. The NIAC supports initiatives such as the Indigenous Summer Student Program (ISSP). The ISSP provides Indigenous students with work experience to help their career development within the federal public service.

Engaged and empowered workforce

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA adopted a common hybrid work model. The agency developed numerous policies, tools and procedures to equip and support its employees while continuing to serve and deliver on its mandate for Canadians. The hybrid work model strives for a modern, service-focused and service-oriented workplace where collaboration, inclusion, safety, flexibility and security come together.

The CFIA also made concerted efforts to prepare for the post-pandemic operating environment. Funding was received through a Treasury Board submission to help build an agile workforce and support long-term digital transformation.

$61.7 million to be received over 3 years (2022 to 2023–2024 to 2025) for:

• essential training to upskill front-line staff that was temporarily unavailable because of COVID-19 restrictions
• addressing deferred maintenance for digital services
• examining opportunities for virtual inspection over the longer term

In 2022 to 2023, $18.5 million was received to begin modernizing CFIA service delivery by updating inspector training and digital services, and by examining technology-enhanced virtual oversight scenarios and options, which will ensure that the agency continues to effectively deliver its core business.

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA launched the Project Management Development Program (PMDP) to provide CFIA employees with the skills, competencies and experience to effectively plan, implement, monitor and complete projects and programs. The agency received 22 applications to this program.

As a science-based regulator, the CFIA employs subject matter experts in many different fields. In 2022 to 2023, to address shortages of veterinarians, who play a critical role in the delivery of its mandate, the agency:

• advertised on various social media platforms, at veterinary schools and on vetjobscanada.com, leveraging vet liaisons to spread the word
• ran 2 advertising campaigns at the Veterinary Medical Associations and used web marketing and LinkedIn services
• launched a summer student internship with the Chief Veterinary Officer for Canada and hired 13 students from the Veterinary Student Summer Internship Program
• participated in multiple veterinarian events including at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, the 2022 CanWest Veterinary Conference and the Veterinary Education Today Career Fair

The CFIA received 113 applications through VM-01 inventory applications and appointed 23 veterinarians from that inventory (as of March 2023), increasing the number of new hires by 23% from 2021 to 2022–2022 to 2023.

Communications services

Communicating with Canadians, stakeholders, industry and employees is an important element in the delivery of the CFIA mandate. To improve trust and transparency, the agency has developed clear and concise communications for stakeholders and industry. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA:

• held focus groups with Canadian consumers about ASF
• issued a notice to industry to inform enoki mushroom importers of their responsibilities for importing safe food
• promoted the Fish Health Tracker on the Canadian Wildlife Health Cooperative (CWHC) blog. A collaboration between the CFIA, the Canadian Animal Health Surveillance System and the CWHC, the Fish Health Tracker is a community and citizen science initiative to protect fish health
• held a webinar to help businesses in the manufactured food sector understand the requirements of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations
• resumed the Plant Research Seminar and Fireside Chat Series where CFIA plant scientists discuss their research with those who are interested in plant health
• used digital platforms as a main source of information for the public including advertising campaigns to support the CFIA's mandate and address emerging issues to improve trust and transparency with stakeholders and ensure key information is communicated online
  • The CFIA's website received over 8 million visits that translated to over 19 million views. This is an increase of 1 million visits and more than 2 million views compared to 2021 to 2022
  • The CFIA led 15 impactful advertising campaigns on a wide range of important topics, including avian influenza, new requirements for pet imports, African swine fever, Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, e-commerce, food fraud, invasive species, and employee recruitment with a focus on veterinarians
• conducted regular public opinion research with consumers, businesses, and special interest groups. Topics covered included the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations, ASF, plant health, and the pet trade. This research provided valuable insights, such as that 71.5% of Canadians trust in the CFIA's activities and 80% of food businesses have a clear understanding of food safety regulations. It also revealed challenges faced by some food importers and manufacturers in obtaining information on regulations and labeling. These insights were used to inform planning and decision-making, while steps were taken to improve user experience and website navigation regarding food safety regulation and labeling information on the CFIA's website

Modernizing laboratory resources

Aging infrastructure and equipment combined with many years of deferred maintenance, technological advancements and new Government of Canada priorities, such as greening government operations, have highlighted the need to strategically manage the CFIA's assets. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA continued to provide service and maintenance, including repairs to the Lethbridge laboratory incinerator, replacing the boiler burner at the Ottawa (Fallowfield) laboratory, replacing the air handler at the Lethbridge laboratory, and establishing a national laboratory security project, among others.

The CFIA laboratories also house scientific equipment used to support food safety decisions, help determine the national status, set standards, determine quarantine areas and support a variety of national programs, including import/export, surveillance and disease control programs. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA invested in equipment that increases efficiency and sensitivity of testing capabilities as well as equipment designed to meet regulations and standards that promote health and safety. The CFIA purchased a robotic barcoding-capable automated enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) workstation, new autoclaves, growth chambers real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) instruments and other tools.

Digitalized tools and services

In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA developed and deployed more digital services through its ongoing investments in modernizing its applications and increasing the availability of self-services through My CFIA. As a result, more permissions are available online such as select pre-market approvals, import permits and export certificates. In 2022 to 2023, the CFIA started accepting digitally signed certificates issued through the USDA/Food Safety and Inspection Service e-certification system for meat imported into Canada from the U.S..

The CFIA also enhanced its Automated Shipment Inspection Status Search Tool by integrating the CFIA Shipment Tracker for Food, Plant and Animal products. This tracker allows importers to check the status of any food, plant or animal import declared electronically in real-time. It is a system that has the capacity to continually and quickly evolve to meet the needs of its users. With this tool, veterinarians and the CFIA can confirm that the equine infectious anemia related import requirements as well as other animal imports of the receiving country have been met, making the export process more efficient.

The CFIA worked with its Government of Canada partners to modernize its Recalls and safety alerts website. Part of these improvements include new email notification services for recalls and alerts. The new site combines recall notices for vehicles, health products, consumer products and food in one place, simplifying the search functions for Canadians.

Contracts awarded to Indigenous businesses

The CFIA is a Phase 1 department and, as such, must ensure that a minimum of 5% of the total value of the contracts it awards go to Indigenous businesses by the end of 2022 to 2023. In its 2023 to 2024 Departmental Plan, the department forecasted that, by the end of 2022 to 2023, it would award 5% of the total value of its contracts to Indigenous businesses.

As shown in the following table, the CFIA awarded 5.8% of the total value of its contracts, excluding contracts in relation to declared emergencies, to Indigenous businesses in 2022 to 2023.

In 2022, the CFIA implemented the Procurement Strategy for Indigenous Businesses Action Plan, which outlines how the agency plans to strategically set aside contracts to Indigenous businesses each year. With the Action Plan, the CFIA exceeded the 5% target through effective procurement planning and identification of potential set aside opportunities for Indigenous businesses; applying conditional or voluntary set asides to procurements with limited exceptions; continuing to educate, provide tools and guidance, and promote contracts being awarded to Indigenous businesses.

Budgetary financial resources (dollars)

The following table shows, for internal services, budgetary spending for 2022 to 2023, as well as spending for that year.

Human resources (full-time equivalents)

The following table shows, in full‑time equivalents, the human resources the department needed to carry out its internal services for 2022 to 2023.

Agency internal services actual spending and actual full-time equivalents were higher than the plan mainly as the result of internal temporary funding provided to enabling branches to help bolster support functions.

Spending and human resources

Spending

Spending 2020 to 2021–2025 to 2026

The following graph presents planned (voted and statutory) spending over time.

Figure 5 – Text version

	2020 to 2021	2021 to 2022	2022 to 2023	2023 to 2024	2024 to 2025	2025 to 2026
Statutory	116	128	257	151	147	145
Voted	693	696	751	691	618	598
Total	809	824	1008	842	765	743

The increase in spending in 2022 to 2023 is primarily due to statutory compensation payments related to the avian influenza outbreak and operating expenses attributed to the avian influenza emergency response. Planned spending in 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 26 is less than in previous years primarily due to the sunsetting of various initiatives. When the anticipated renewal of sunsetting resources is included, planned spending is forecasted to be more stable.

Budgetary performance summary for core responsibilities and internal services (dollars)

The "Budgetary performance summary for core responsibilities and internal services" table presents the budgetary financial resources allocated for the CFIA's core responsibility and for internal services.

The increase in spending in 2022 to 2023 is primarily due to statutory compensation payments related to the avian influenza outbreak. Planned spending in 2024 to 2025 is less than in previous years, primarily due to the sunsetting (or discontinuation) of various initiatives. When the anticipated renewal of sunsetting resources is included, planned spending is forecasted to be more stable.

Human resources

The "Human resources summary for core responsibilities and internal services" table presents the full-time equivalents (FTEs) allocated to the CFIA's core responsibility and to internal services.

Human resources summary for core responsibilities and internal services

Expenditures by vote

For information on the CFIA's organizational voted and statutory expenditures, consult the Public Accounts of Canada.

Government of Canada spending and activities

Information on the alignment of the CFIA's spending with Government of Canada's spending and activities is available in GC InfoBase.

Financial statements and financial statements highlights

Financial statements

The CFIA's financial statements (unaudited) for the year ended March 31, 2023, are available on the department's website.

Financial statement highlights

The following financial statements highlights are intended to serve as a general overview of the CFIA's financial position and operations.

Financial statements are prepared in accordance with accrual accounting principles, Treasury Board accounting policies, and year-end instructions issued by the Office of the Comptroller General which are based on Canadian generally accepted accounting principles for the public sector, as required under Section 31 of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act. The financial information presented in earlier sections of this Department Results Report was drawn from the Public Accounts of Canada which were prepared using an expenditure basis of accounting, also known as modified cash accounting.

The CFIA's expenses for the fiscal year were $1.14 billion, an increase of $228 million compared to 2021 to 2022 which was mainly due to emergency response activities related to avian influenza.

Total revenues were $53.2 million, a decrease of $5.7 million compared to 2021 to 2022 explained by a normalization of revenues related to inspection fees. Revenues were higher than usual in 2021 to 2022 as the billing backlog caused by implementation of the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations was rectified in that year. 2022 to 2023 revenues reflect a normal amount going forward.

The 2022 to 2023 planned results information is provided in CFIA's Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2022 to 2023.

Liabilities at the end of 2022 to 2023 were $234 million, an increase of $79 million compared to the previous year. The change is mainly due to accrued compensation payments related to avian influenza outbreak, as well as an increase in allowance for retroactive payments for expired collective agreements. The increase in net financial assets of $13.6 million is due to an increase in amounts due from the Consolidated Revenue Fund, which is reflective of financial authority used for an increase in accounts payable at year end.

Total non-financial assets amounted to $179 million, an increase of $11 million compared to 2021 to 2022 due to increased investment in laboratories and IT systems.

The 2022 to 2023 planned results information is provided in CFIA's Future-Oriented Statement of Operations and Notes 2022 to 2023.

Corporate information

Organizational profile

Appropriate minister[s]: The Honourable Mark Holland

Institutional head: Dr. Harpreet S. Kochhar

Ministerial portfolio: Health

Enabling instruments:

Enabling statute: Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act

Other assigned statutes:

• Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act
• Food and Drugs Act
• Safe Food for Canadians Act
• Fertilizer Act
• Plant Breeders' Rights Act
• Plant Protection Act
• Seeds Act
• Health of Animals Act
• Feeds Act

Year of incorporation / commencement: 1997

Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do

"Raison d'être, mandate and role: who we are and what we do" is available on the CFIA's website.

For more information on the Department's organizational mandate letter commitments, see the Ministers' mandate letters.

Operating context

Information on the operating context is available on the CFIA's website.

Reporting framework

The CFIA's departmental results framework and program inventory of record for 2022 to 2023 are shown below.

Description for departmental results framework and program inventory

The first section of the image is the departmental results framework which shows the relationship between the results under core responsibility: safe food and healthy plants and animals and the indicators related to each result.

The next section is a listing of the program inventory.

Departmental Results Framework

• Departmental result 1: Food sold in Canada is safe and accurately represented to Canadians
  • Departmental result indicator 1: Percentage of food establishments that have addressed compliance issues upon follow-up or were brought into compliance, by year
  • Departmental result indicator 2: Percentage of higher risk food recalls that occurred prior to an adverse effect being reported to the CFIA, by year
  • Departmental result indicator 3: Percentage of Canadians who agree that the CFIA helps ensure that food sold in Canada is safe, by year
• Departmental result 2: Plant and animal resources are protected from diseases and pets and are safe for Canadians and the environment
  • Departmental result indicator 1: Number of harmful foreign plant pests that have entered and established themselves in Canada, by year
  • Departmental result indicator 2: Percentage of regulated, harmful foreign plant pests that had previously entered and established in Canada and whose spread was successfully limited by the CFIA control programs, by year
  • Departmental result indicator 3: Percentage of plant inputs, products and by-products that comply with Canadian regulations and relevant international agreements, by year
  • Departmental result indicator 4: Percentage of animal inputs, products and by-products that comply with Canadian regulations and relevant international agreements, by year
  • Departmental result indicator 5: Percentage of Canadian producers that have maintained or improved their status in programs designed to protect the health of animals, by year
  • Departmental result indicator 6: Rate of confirmed animal disease outbreaks per 100 investigations conducted by the CFIA to limit the impact of animal health diseases within Canada, by year
• Departmental result 3: Canadian food, plants and animals and their associated products can be traded internationally
  • Departmental result indicator 1: Number of international markets that are opened or maintained based on CFIA activities, by year

Program inventory

• Setting rules for food safety and consumer protection
• Food safety and consumer protection compliance promotion
• Monitoring and enforcement for food safety and consumer protection
• Permissions for food products
• Setting rules for plant health
• Plant health compliance promotion
• Monitoring and enforcement for plant health
• Permissions for plant products
• Setting rules for animal health
• Animal health compliance promotion
• Monitoring and enforcement for animal health
• Permissions for animal products
• International standard setting
• International regulatory cooperation and science collaboration
• Market access support

Supporting information on the program inventory

Financial, human resources and performance information for the CFIA's program inventory is available in GC InfoBase.

Supplementary information tables

The following supplementary information tables are available on the CFIA's website:

• Reporting on Green Procurement
• Details on transfer payment programs
• Gender-based analysis plus
• United Nations 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals
• Response to Parliamentary Committees

Federal tax expenditures

The tax system can be used to achieve public policy objectives through the application of special measures such as low tax rates, exemptions, deductions, deferrals and credits. The Department of Finance Canada publishes cost estimates and projections for these measures each year in the Report on Federal Tax Expenditures. This report also provides detailed background information on tax expenditures, including descriptions, objectives, historical information and references to related federal spending programs as well as evaluations and GBA Plus of tax expenditures.

Organizational contact information

Mailing address:

Canadian Food Inspection Agency
1400 Merivale Road
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0Y9
Canada
Telephone: 1-800-442-2342 / 1-613-773-2342
TTY: 1-800-465-7735
Website: Contact CFIA online

Appendix: definitions

appropriation (crédit)

Any authority of Parliament to pay money out of the Consolidated Revenue Fund.

budgetary expenditures (dépenses budgétaires)

Operating and capital expenditures; transfer payments to other levels of government, organizations or individuals; and payments to Crown corporations.

core responsibility (responsabilité essentielle)

An enduring function or role performed by a department. The intentions of the department with respect to a core responsibility are reflected in one or more related departmental results that the department seeks to contribute to or influence.

Departmental Plan (plan ministériel)

A report on the plans and expected performance of an appropriated department over a 3‑year period. Departmental Plans are usually tabled in Parliament each spring.

departmental priority (priorité ministérielle)

A plan or project that a department has chosen to focus and report on during the planning period. Priorities represent the things that are most important or what must be done first to support the achievement of the desired departmental results.

departmental result (résultat ministériel)

A consequence or outcome that a department seeks to achieve. A departmental result is often outside departments' immediate control, but it should be influenced by program-level outcomes.

departmental result indicator (indicateur de résultat ministériel)

A quantitative measure of progress on a departmental result.

departmental results framework (cadre ministériel des résultats)

A framework that connects the department's core responsibilities to its departmental results and departmental result indicators.

Departmental Results Report (rapport sur les résultats ministériels)

A report on a department's actual accomplishments against the plans, priorities and expected results set out in the corresponding Departmental Plan.

full‑time equivalent (équivalent temps plein)

A measure of the extent to which an employee represents a full person‑year charge against a departmental budget. For a particular position, the full‑time equivalent figure is the ratio of number of hours the person actually works divided by the standard number of hours set out in the person's collective agreement.

gender-based analysis plus (GBA Plus) (analyse comparative entre les sexes plus [ACS Plus])

An analytical tool used to support the development of responsive and inclusive policies, programs and other initiatives; and understand how factors such as sex, race, national and ethnic origin, Indigenous origin or identity, age, sexual orientation, socio-economic conditions, geography, culture and disability, impact experiences and outcomes, and can affect access to and experience of government programs.

government-wide priorities (priorités pangouvernementales)

For the purpose of the 2022 to 2023 Departmental Results Report, government-wide priorities are the high-level themes outlining the government's agenda in the November 23, 2021, Speech from the Throne: building a healthier today and tomorrow; growing a more resilient economy; bolder climate action; fighting harder for safer communities; standing up for diversity and inclusion; moving faster on the path to reconciliation; and fighting for a secure, just and equitable world.

horizontal initiative (initiative horizontale)

An initiative where two or more federal organizations are given funding to pursue a shared outcome, often linked to a government priority.

non‑budgetary expenditures (dépenses non budgétaires)

Net outlays and receipts related to loans, investments and advances, which change the composition of the financial assets of the Government of Canada.

performance (rendement)

What an organization did with its resources to achieve its results, how well those results compare to what the organization intended to achieve, and how well lessons learned have been identified.

performance indicator (indicateur de rendement)

A qualitative or quantitative means of measuring an output or outcome, with the intention of gauging the performance of an organization, program, policy or initiative respecting expected results.

performance reporting (production de rapports sur le rendement)

The process of communicating evidence‑based performance information. Performance reporting supports decision making, accountability and transparency.

plan (plan)

The articulation of strategic choices, which provides information on how an organization intends to achieve its priorities and associated results. Generally, a plan will explain the logic behind the strategies chosen and tend to focus on actions that lead to the expected result.

planned spending (dépenses prévues)

For Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports, planned spending refers to those amounts presented in Main Estimates.

A department is expected to be aware of the authorities that it has sought and received. The determination of planned spending is a departmental responsibility, and departments must be able to defend the expenditure and accrual numbers presented in their Departmental Plans and Departmental Results Reports.

program (programme)

Individual or groups of services, activities or combinations thereof that are managed together within the department and focus on a specific set of outputs, outcomes or service levels.

program inventory (répertoire des programmes)

Identifies all the department's programs and describes how resources are organized to contribute to the department's core responsibilities and results.

result (résultat)

A consequence attributed, in part, to an organization, policy, program or initiative. Results are not within the control of a single organization, policy, program or initiative; instead they are within the area of the organization's influence.

statutory expenditures (dépenses législatives)

Expenditures that Parliament has approved through legislation other than appropriation acts. The legislation sets out the purpose of the expenditures and the terms and conditions under which they may be made.

target (cible)

A measurable performance or success level that an organization, program or initiative plans to achieve within a specified time period. Targets can be either quantitative or qualitative.

voted expenditures (dépenses votées)

Expenditures that Parliament approves annually through an appropriation act. The vote wording becomes the governing conditions under which these expenditures may be made.