Privy Council Office: The strategic environmental assessment of the gene-editing guidanceRefused by silence
8 Sept 2026 · Access to Information Act · A-2026-00581
10 Sept: fee waiver refused, and the time for an answer declared not begun until the fee is paid. Complaint to the Information Commissioner 25 Sept. 8 Oct, the due date, passed without an answer.
Request under the Access to Information Act — strategic environmental assessment of the gene-editing guidance decisions of 18 May 2022, 3 May 2023 and 3 May 2024
Hello,
I make this request under section 6 of the Access to Information Act. I am a Canadian resident and I request access to the following records held by the Privy Council Office.
1. All records concerning whether a strategic environmental assessment was required under the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals for the Health Canada guidance on the novelty interpretation of products of plant breeding issued on 18 May 2022.
2. All records concerning whether such an assessment was required for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency guidance for Part V of the Seeds Regulations approved by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food on 3 May 2023.
3. All records concerning whether an assessment was required under the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency guidance on novel feeds published on 3 May 2024.
4. All correspondence between the Privy Council Office and Health Canada, or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, or Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, concerning the application of either Directive to gene-edited plants, dated between 1 January 2021 and the date this request is processed.
5. All records held by the Privy Council Office on compliance with either Directive by Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, from 1 January 2021 to the date this request is processed, including any compliance tally, tracking record or reporting document.
6. All guidance issued by the Privy Council Office to departments on the transition from the Cabinet Directive on the Environmental Assessment of Policy, Plan and Program Proposals to the Cabinet Directive on Strategic Environmental and Economic Assessment on 1 April 2024.
I request the records in electronic format.
Where the Privy Council Office holds no record answering any numbered item above, I require a written statement to that effect for that item. That statement is the object of this request as much as any record.
Fees. I am without income and I am unable to pay the application fee. I request a waiver of the fee under subsection 11(6) of the Access to Information Act. The records sought concern the environmental assessment of decisions that govern food and seed entering the supply of every resident of Canada, and the public benefit of their release is direct. If the waiver is refused, I ask to be advised in writing of the refusal, the reason for it, and the method of payment, and I will pay the 5.00 dollar fee.
I require registration of this request on the date of its receipt, and the file number. A refusal to register this request until a fee is paid, an absence of a file number, or an absence of a decision on the waiver request will be placed before the Information Commissioner of Canada.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban