WESTERN PRODUCER — Politicians, investors, ag tech companies, industry consultants and representatives of the crop science industry say Canada’s regulatory system has a bad reputation.
They claim politics and public opinion are influencing Health Canada decisions around pesticides and new technologies such as gene edited crops, and that the regulatory process has become unpredictable and unclear.
Because of the regulatory roadblocks, some Canadian companies with new crop protection products and novel crop genetics are going to market in the U.S, but not in Canada.
Health Canada disagrees.
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency has a “strong reputation … around the world” for its science-based decisions, a spokesperson said in an email.
“(The) PMRA … continues to uphold its commitment of making sound, rigorous, evidence-based decisions. Our data requirements and performance standards are highly aligned with our international partners, including the United States,” she said.
Further, the data shows that Health Canada decisions happen at the same speed as other jurisdictions.
“Our… review timelines are largely aligned with other OECD countries,” she said.
Health Canada’s complete response will be published in the Nov. 16 issue of The Western Producer.
Contact robert.arnason@producer.com
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