G/TBT/N/CAN/571  
 
11 December 2018  
(18-7827) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English/French  
 
  
NOTIFICATION  
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6  
 
1. Notifying Member: CANADA   
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):   
2. Agency responsible: Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)  
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above:   
Canada's SPS & TBT Notification Authority and Enquiry Point  
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada  
Technical Barriers and Regulations Division  
111 Sussex Drive  
Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2  
Canada  
Telephone: (343)2 03-4273 
Fax: (613)943 -0346 
E-mail: enquirypoint@international.gc.ca  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X], 2.10.1 [  ], 5.6.2 [  ], 5.7.1 [  ], other:  
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN  where applicable, otherwise national tariff 
heading. ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable): Fertilizers 
and Supplements imported under HS codes: 25 - Salt; Sulphur; Earths and Stone; 
Plastering Materials, Lime and Cement ; 30 - Pharmac eutical Products ; 31 – Fertilizers ; 
38 - Miscellaneous chemical products ; ICS: 65.080  
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document: Proposed 
regulations to amend the Fertilizers Regulations (56 pages, available in English and 
French)   
6. Description of content: Fertilizers (substances containing plant nutrients) and 
supplements (substances other than fertilizers, intended to improve the physical condition 
of soils, or aid plant growth or crop yields) imported into or sold in Canada a re regulated 
by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency under the Fertilizers Regulations . Regulated 
products include farm fertilizers, micronutrients, lawn and garden products as well as 
supplements such as water holding polymers, microbial inoculants, plant growth 
regulators, liming materials, and waste -derived materials such as composts and municipal 
biosolids.  
The Fertilizers Regulations  requires that all regulated fertilizer and supplement products 
be safe for humans, plants, animals, and the environment. They must also be properly 
labelled to ensure safe and appropriate use.  G/TBT/N/CAN/571  
 
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  Certain fertilizers and most supplements are subject to registration and require a 
comprehensive pre -market assessment prior to their import or sale in Canada. The pre -
market assessment consists of a detailed, science -based evaluation of product safety 
information and labelling, which focuses on the evaluation of product safety towards 
humans, plants, animals and the environment.  
All regulated fertilizer and supplement products submitted to the Canadian Food 
Inspection Agency  for registration or approval m ust undergo a thorough label verification 
to ensure that displayed information is in compliance with the criteria prescribed by the 
Fertilizers Regulations .  
Products that are exempt from registration are still subject to regulation and must meet 
all the p rescribed standards at the time of sale or import.  
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is proposing amendments to the Fertilizers 
Regulations . The proposed amendments include:  
• Regulatory changes including:  
• changes to definitions and terminologies;  
• Certain  product definitions would be amended, added, or removed to align 
with current science, industry trends and international standards;  
• general exemptions from the fertilizers framework;  
• exemption from registration and pre -market assessments;  
• registration requirements;  
• labelling and record keeping requirements;  
• extension of the registration period from 3 to 5 years; and  
• incorporation by reference of a List of Primary fertilizer and supplement 
materials exempt from registration.  
Additional non -regulatory changes are also proposed in a shift towards more risk -based 
approaches including policy and administrative refinements to streamline the product 
registration process and reduce burden on regulated parties. A fundamental component 
of these non -regulatory c hanges is the implementation of a risk -based tiered registration 
process.  
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable: The Fertilizers Regulations  are designed to safeguard Canada 's food supply, 
protect the health of animals and plants and enhance the well -being of Canada's people, 
environment and economy.  
The proposed amendments to the Fertilizers Regulations  are the result of a systematic 
review conducted by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which identified th e need to 
align pre -market oversight, eliminate inconsistencies, reduce unnecessary burden and 
increase international harmonization and alignment. The proposed amendments will 
better reflect modern science, current manufacturing practises, and industry tre nds. They 
will address emerging risks associated with fertilizer and supplements by enabling the 
Canadian Food Inspection Agency to undertake risk - based regulatory approaches and 
pre-market oversight based on the risk profile and exposure pattern of thes e products.   
8. Relevant documents:   
• Canada Gazette, Part I, 8 December 2018, Pages 4350 -4405 (Available in English 
and French)  
9. Proposed date of adoption:  Early 2020  
Proposed date of entry into force:  On the day in which the amendments to the 
Fertiliz ers Regulations are adopted, with a 3 -year phase in period.  
10. Final date for comments: 21 February 2019  G/TBT/N/CAN/571  
 
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  11. Texts available from: National enquiry point [X] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body:   
The electronic version of the proposed policy document can be found at:  
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp -pr/p1/2018/2018 -12-08/html/reg1 -eng.html  
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp -pr/p1/2018/2018 -12-08/html/reg1 -fra.html