G/SPS/GEN/1738  
 
17 October 2019  
(19-6783) Page: 1/4 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
TECHNICAL ASS ISTANCE TO DEVELOPIN G COUNTRIES  
COMMUNICATION FROM CANADA  
The follow ing communication, received on 16 October 2019, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Canada . 
 
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1.  Canada would like to provide an update regarding the provision of technical assistance from 
January to December 201 8.1 Technical assistance has been provided to developing and least 
developed countries in accordance with Article 9 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary 
and Phyto sanitary Measures. The assistance was primarily aimed at facilitating the development and 
implementation of sanitary and phytosanitary measures based on sound science. The attached table 
reflects Canadian technical assistance to developing and least dev eloped countries in 201 8. 
While  every effort has been made to ensure that information contained in the table presents all 
relevant technical assistance projects, it may not constitute a complete compilation of technical 
assistance delivered given the number o f Canadian government departments and agencies and the 
variety of delivery programs involved.  
2.  The monetary value of the technical assistance committe d amounted to approximately 
CDN $10.60 million between January and December 201 8. It should be noted that, in many cases, 
the organizations providing the assistance also made additional in -kind contributions to projects.  
3.  Assistance was provided to more than 21 countries – in Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America 
and the Caribbean, Central Asia and the Asia -Pacific region. Assistance was directed to both 
individual countries, groups of countries, and to international organizations.  
4.  Canada 's assistance addressed three of the four broad categories listed in G/SPS/GEN/206: 
information; training; and "soft" infrastru cture development (but not "hard" infrastructure 
development). Assistance from Canada covered most of the "typical areas of competence" listed 
under the headings of food safety, animal health and plant protection, in the Annex of 
G/SPS/GEN/206.  
5.  In all, 19 projects are listed for the period January to December 201 8. Some of the projects listed 
are multi -year projects; however, projects are only reported once and generally in the year in which 
the project is initiated unless subsequent funded project extensio ns occur.  
                                                
1 Canada has provided technical assistance updates for 2017 (G/SPS/GEN/1651), 2016 
(G/SPS/GEN/1584), 2015 (G/SPS/GEN/1522), 2014 (G/SPS/GEN/1426), 2013 (G/SPS/GEN/1342), 2012 
(G/SPS/GEN/1318), 2011 (G/SPS/GEN/1196), 2010 (G/SPS/GEN/1149), 2009 (G/SPS/GEN/109 9), 2008 
(G/SPS/GEN/1027), 2007 (G/SPS/GEN/1008), 2005 -2006 (G/SPS/GEN/765), 2000 -2004 (G/SPS/GEN/728), 
and for years prior to 2000 (G/SPS/GEN/143/Rev.1/Add.1 ). G/SPS/GEN/1738  
 
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  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE  PROVIDED BY CANADA  
JANUARY - DECEMBER 2 018 
Sector  Description of Particular 
Programme  Form of 
Assistance  Provided to  Contact  
Animal 
Health  World Organi sation for Animal 
Health (OIE) Laboratory 
Twinning Project between 
Canada and Peru on Rabies and 
Transmissible Spongiform 
Encephalopathies (TSE).  
Training provided on 
diagnostics and pathogen 
characterization of rabies, 
scrapie and chronic wasting 
disease to veterinarians from 
the Virology and Pathology 
Units of Unidad del Centro 
Diagnóstico de Sanidad Animal  
(SENASA -Perú) in Ottawa.  
(26 May – 9 June 2018 – 
Rabies; and 3 -14 September  
2018 - TSE) 
Assessment/evaluation visit to 
SENASA -Perú (26  February – 
2 March  2018)  Training  Peru Rolf.Schoenert@canada.ca  
Animal 
Health  AAFC/CFIA/IICA Workshop to 
increase sanitary and 
phytosanitary (SPS) risk 
assessment capacities of 
countries in the Americas 
(zoning and 
compartmentalization following 
outbreak of an animal disease). 
This initiative convened 
countries from th e Caribbean, 
Latin America, and North 
America to share technical 
approaches to contain and 
combat outbreaks of animal 
disease such as Highly 
Pathogenic Avian Influenza.  
(26 April 2018)  Funding 
Training  Costa Rica + 
25 OIE 
member 
countries in 
the Americas  Brent.Wilson@canada.ca  
Animal 
Health  Training for staff and 
postdoctoral fellows at the 
Kenya Agricultural & Livestock 
Research Organization (KALRO) 
as well as representatives from 
the veterinary services of 
Burkina Faso and Benin who 
will act as trainers for others in 
the region on Contagious 
Caprine Pleuropneumonia 
(CCPP) and Mycoplasma 
capricolum  subsp. 
capripneumoniae  (Mccp) & 
Molecular and serological 
diagnostic for Ehrlichia 
ruminantium . 
(June 2018)  Training  Benin , 
Burkina 
Faso, Kenya , 
Niger  ktiessen@idrc.ca  
Animal 
Health  Training for farm technicians at 
MCI Santé Animale  in Morocco  
(August 2018)  Training  Morocco  ktiessen@idrc.ca  
Plant 
Health  Support to the second meeting 
of the International Plant 
Protection Convention (IPPC) 
Sea Containers Task Force.  
(September 2018)  Funding  Includes FAO 
member 
developing 
countries  Brent.Wilson@canada.ca  G/SPS/GEN/1738  
 
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  Sector  Description of Particular 
Programme  Form of 
Assistance  Provided to  Contact  
Plant 
Health  Plant biotechnology program to 
improve the capacity of the 
Ministry of Agriculture and 
Rural Infrastructure in the 
development of a seed control 
system as well as a risk 
assessment and risk 
management system for seeds 
and biotechnology products.  
(December 2018  - March 2021)  Training  Senegal  Rolf.Schoenert@canada.ca  
Food 
Safety  Technical cooperation mission 
conducted under offshore 
preventive control activities to 
mitigate non -compliance of 
imported food products.  
(26 February – 2 March 2018)  Information  Costa Rica, 
Guatemala, 
Mexico  Rolf.Schoenert@canada.ca  
Food 
Safety  Technical cooperation mission 
conducted under offshore 
preventive control activities to 
mitigate non -compliance of 
imported food products.  
(5-9 March  2018)  Information  India Rolf.Schoenert@canada.ca  
Food 
Safety  Food Safety Systems study to 
share information on Canada 's 
regulatory system, laboratory 
diagnostics and science 
surveillance work in food safety 
with Ministry of Science and 
Technology researcher.  
(5 September  2018)  Information  Chinese 
Taipei  Rolf.Schoenert@canada.ca  
Food 
Safety  Canada -Ukraine Trade and 
Investment Support  
Study Tour to share 
information on sanitary and 
phytosanitary import controls 
for food products.  
(17-21 September  2018)  Information  Ukraine  Rolf.Schoenert@canada.ca  
Food 
Safety  Series of two webinars on 
enforcement and application of 
the Canadian food allergen 
labelling regulations.  
(14 and 21 November  2018)  Information  Chinese 
Taipei  Rolf.Schoenert@canada.ca  
Food 
Safety  Series of two workshops on 
enforcement and application of 
the Canadian food allergen 
labelling regulations.  
(15 and 22 November  2018)  Information  Chinese 
Taipei  Rolf.Schoenert@canada.ca  
Plant 
Health 
& Food 
Safety  ePhyto  workshop to support the 
implementation of electronic 
phytosanitary certificates.  
(August 2018)  Training  Argentina 
and other 
countries in 
the Americas 
and the 
Caribbean  Brent.Wilson@canada.ca  
Plant 
Health 
& Food 
Safety  Agriculture Biotechnology Study 
Tour to study the regulation of 
biotechnology in Canada.  
(22–31 October  2018)  Information  Philippines  Rolf.Schoenert@canada.ca  G/SPS/GEN/1738  
 
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  Sector  Description of Particular 
Programme  Form of 
Assistance  Provided to  Contact  
Animal 
Health, 
Plant 
Health 
& Food 
Safety  Support to the joint Food & 
Agriculture Organization 
(FAO)/World Health 
Organization (WHO) scientific 
advice program. This funding 
enables additional scientific 
advice to bodies such as the 
Codex Alimentarius 
Commission on pesticides, 
microbiological risks in food, 
and nutrition.  
(February 2018)  Funding  Includes FAO 
member 
developing 
countries  Brent.Wilson@canada.ca  
Animal 
Health, 
Plant 
Health 
& Food 
Safety  Support to Food & Agriculture 
Organization (FAO) Genetically 
Modified Foods Platform 
community meeting. This 
initiative brought together a 
wide number of countries to 
share information on their 
assessments of genetically 
modified foods and feeds based 
on guidance provided by the 
Codex Alimentarius.  
(March 2018)  Funding  Includes FAO 
member 
developing 
countries  Brent.Wilson@canada.ca  
Animal 
Health, 
Plant 
Health 
& Food 
Safety  Contribution to support the 
International Symposium on 
Agricultural Innovation for 
Family Farmers: Unlocking the 
potential of agricultural 
innovation to achieve the 
Sustainable Development 
Goals.  
(March 2018)  Funding  Includes FAO 
member 
developing 
countries  Brent.Wilson@canada.ca  
Animal 
Health, 
Plant 
Health 
& Food 
Safety  Contribution to WTO – 
Standards and Trade 
Development Facility (STDF) to 
improve regulatory and 
technical capacity development 
and use of standards to 
facilitate trade.  
(May 2018)  Funding  Includes 
WTO 
Member 
developing 
countries  Brent.Wilson@canada.ca  
Animal 
Health, 
Plant 
Health 
& Food 
Safety  This project aims to promote 
the economic empowerment of 
women traders in agricultural 
and agri-food commodities in 
Eastern Africa by providing 
women traders various 
technical support on market 
access platforms, 
documentation, safe working 
spaces and reporting 
mechanisms.  
(March 2018 to June 2022)  Capacity 
Building  Regional 
South of 
Sahara 
Africa, 
Burundi, 
Democratic 
Republic of 
Congo, 
Kenya, 
Rwanda, 
South 
Sudan, 
Tanzania, 
Uganda  Nikita.Eriksenhamel@international.
gc.ca 
 
 
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