Canada's environmental law certifies a check on gene-edited seed that its own guidance switched off.
Filed 2 September 2026 · petition 0550 forwarded to 4 ministers on 24 September 2026 · published 25 September 2026 · Danilo Dzyuban, Ottawa · statute captured in full from the Justice Laws Website, consolidation current to 3 September 2026
A living organism new to Canada may not be manufactured or imported until the Minister of the Environment has been notified and the assessment period has run. The Act exempts organisms regulated under another federal law that provides notice and a toxicity assessment, and it lets the Cabinet certify such a law by listing it in Schedule 4. The Seeds Regulations are listed. Since 3 May 2023 a gene-edited plant found non-novel is released under those Regulations with no notice to anyone and no assessment by anyone. The certificate stands. The check behind it does not.
The duty
106 (1) Where a living organism is not specified on the Domestic Substances List, no person shall manufacture or import the living organism unless (a) the prescribed information with respect to the living organism, accompanied by the prescribed fee, has been provided by that person to the Minister on or before the prescribed date; and (b) the period for assessing the information under section 108 has expired.
Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, S.C. 1999, c. 33, s. 106 (1)
The exemption, and its condition
106 (6) Subsections (1), (3) and (4) do not apply to (a) a living organism that is manufactured or imported for a use that is regulated under any other Act of Parliament that provides for notice to be given before the manufacture, import or sale of the living organism and for an assessment of whether it is toxic or capable of becoming toxic;
s. 106 (6)(a)
Two conditions, joined by and: notice before manufacture, import or sale, and an assessment of toxicity. The exemption is earned by a law that does both.
The certificate
106 (7) [T]he Governor in Council has the exclusive responsibility for determining whether or not the requirements referred to in paragraph (6)(a) are met […] and (a) […] the fact that an Act or regulations are listed in Schedule 4 is conclusive proof that the requirements referred to in paragraph (6)(a) are met; and (b) if the Governor in Council determines that the requirements referred to in paragraph (6)(a) are no longer met […] the Governor in Council may by order delete from Schedule 4 the name of that Act or those regulations.
s. 106 (7)
| Item | Act | Regulations listed in Schedule 4 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pest Control Products Act | Pest Control Products Regulations |
| 2 | Seeds Act | Seeds Regulations |
| 3 | Fertilizers Act | Fertilizers Regulations |
| 4 | Feeds Act | Feeds Regulations, 1983 |
| 5 | Health of Animals Act | Health of Animals Regulations |
The Schedule records the orders SOR/2001-301, 303, 305, 306 and 307. The Food and Drugs Act is not listed. No order of the Governor in Council certifies that it provides the notice and the assessment paragraph (6)(a) requires.
What changed on 3 May 2023
On 3 May 2023 the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food approved guidance of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency for Part V of the Seeds Regulations. Under it, a gene-edited plant determined by its developer to be non-novel requires no notice to the Agency and receives no assessment by the Agency before environmental release. The Agency publishes a list of such plants and states that the list shows only products whose developer agreed to take part. Guidance of 18 May 2022 did the same for food under Health Canada. Guidance of 3 May 2024 did the same for feed.
Subsection 106 (7)(b) gives the Cabinet the power to delete regulations that no longer meet the condition. No public record shows that the listing of the Seeds Regulations or of the Feeds Regulations was reviewed after the guidance of 2023 and 2024.
What the published lists name
The two voluntary lists name, for release into the environment: Sanatech Life Science (tomato), HMP BIOGENIC (hemp), Inari Agriculture (soybean), University of Guelph (canola). For food use, with entries after 3 May 2023: Pairwise Plant Services (mustard greens, blackberry), J.R. Simplot (potato, strawberry), Pioneer Hi-Bred Canada (maize), Inari Agriculture (soybean), Lark Seeds International (tomato), Sanatech Life Science (tomato), Meiogenix (tomato). A developer who did not volunteer is on no list. No federal count of gene-edited organisms released in Canada has been published.
Outside Canada
Regulation (EU) 2026/1388 on plants obtained by new genomic techniques was published on 26 June 2026 and entered into force on 16 July 2026. It bars new genomic techniques from organic production, requires seed of the first category to be labelled, and lists such plants in public databases. The European Union and Canada have recognised each other's organic rules as equivalent since June 2011, and the arrangement covers seeds for cultivation. Canada certifies organic seed under that arrangement while it does not know which gene-edited varieties have been released on its territory.
Canada signed the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety on 19 April 2001 and has not ratified it. It is a Party to the Convention on Biological Diversity.
What the ministers must now answer
The Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development received the petition on 9 September 2026, registered it as file no. 0550, and forwarded it on 24 September 2026 to the ministers responsible for Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Environment and Climate Change Canada and Health Canada. Each must acknowledge by 9 October 2026 and answer by 22 January 2027. Among the 18 questions:
| No. | Question |
|---|---|
| 1 | State the number of gene-edited foods in the Canadian food supply as of the date of the reply. |
| 4 | The guidance of 18 May 2022 altered the application of Division 28 of Part B of the Food and Drug Regulations. The Governor in Council made no amendment. The Canada Gazette carried no publication. Identify the authority for that alteration. |
| 9 | State the number of gene-edited plant varieties released in Canada since 3 May 2023, and identify the source of that number. |
| 16 | State the position of the Government of Canada on ratification of the Cartagena Protocol, and the condition that must be satisfied for ratification to proceed. |
| 17 | Explain how Canada reports on living modified organisms released on its territory to the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity. |
| 18 | Identify the department or agency holding the mandate to enumerate genetically engineered organisms released in Canada. |
The record
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 2 Sept 2026 | Application to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change for an investigation under section 17 of the Act, naming the 11 entries above. Environmental petition under section 22 of the Auditor General Act. Access requests to Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada. |
| 2 Sept 2026 | The department's Inquiry Centre sends an automatic reply. Nothing else follows. |
| 22 Sept 2026 | Section 18: “The Minister shall acknowledge receipt of the application within 20 days of the receipt.” The 20 days end. No acknowledgement. The failure is put to the Minister and the Deputy Minister the same day. |
| 24 Sept 2026 | The Commissioner registers petition 0550 and forwards it to 4 ministers. |
| 25 Sept 2026 | This page is published. |
Verification
The Act was captured in full from the Justice Laws Website on 25 September 2026 (SHA-256 of the captured page 7435f42499594fb5832b1dd7023dba85754333f3290b7a664d0bb5098aea60f1). Every quotation above is taken from that capture. The quoted provisions and Schedule 4 are published as cepa-extract-2026-09-25.txt. The petition is published in the text the Commissioner registered as petition-0550-as-registered.txt.
Citation: Danilo Dzyuban, “Canada's environmental law certifies a check on gene-edited seed that its own guidance switched off.” (25 September 2026).