CFIA puts temporary halt to proposed traceability regulations

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency delays changes after producer concerns. Saskatchewan cattle farmers say they’re relieved by the pause. Jacob Carr reports.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s decision to hit the pause button on proposed additional regulations on animal traceability, is music to the ears of organizations like the Saskatchewan Cattle Association.

“The Saskatchewan Cattle Association called for a halt to these regulations. And we’ve been repeatedly and strongly advocating that movement tracking cannot be burdensome or onerous on our producers,” said Association Chair Chad Ross on Tuesday.

According to Ross, traceability involves the ID of an animal - the premise ID, to show where the animal is located, and other tracking of things like disease history.

The province’s Ministry of Agriculture is also pleased that the federal government has put a temporary halt to the possible changes, saying further discussions are needed with industry stakeholders and provincial agricultural ministers.

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“The Federal Minister assured me that we would try to get it on the agenda at the next meeting and have some discussions further on, really making sure that the cow calf producers and others aren’t so impacted by some of the regulation changes that CFIA had recommended,” said Saskatchewan Minister of Agriculture David Marit.

The CFIA said that a modern and reliable traceability system allows animals to be tracked through the production system, supports faster and more targeted disease response, and helps limit impacts on producers, communities and trade.

However, Ross said the regulations as proposed, if passed, will tack onto the workload and the bill for Saskatchewan cattle producers.

“For our cow calf producers, there’s going to be a little bit of extra scanning and going to be some more equipment needed and that type of thing. For our fairs and exhibitions there is going to be some extra equipment.”

The CFIA said they will continue to consult about the regulations to those in the cattle industry, and agricultural associations and governments.