WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/GEN/1196 
8 October 2012 
 (12-5446) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO DEVELOPING COUNTRIES  
 
Communication from Canada 
 
 
 The following communication, received on 5 Octobe r 2012, is 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 2011.1  Technical assistance has been pr ovided to developing countries in 
accordance with Article 9 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) 
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 in 2011.  While every effort has been made to ensure that information contained 
in the table presents all relevant technical assi stance projects, it may not constitute a complete 
compilation of technical assistance delivered give n the number of Canadian government departments 
and agencies and the variety of delivery programs involved. 
2. The monetary value of the technical assi stance committed amounted to approximately 
Can$ 2.2 million  between January and December 2011. It s hould 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 17 c ountries – in Latin America, the Caribbean, 
Central Asia, and the Asia- Pacific  region.  Assistance was di rected 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; tr aining; and "soft" infrastructure development (but not 
"hard" infrastructure development).  Assistan ce from Canada covered most of the "typical 
areas of competence" listed under the headings of food safe ty, animal health and plant 
protection, in the Annex of G/SPS/GEN/206. 
5. Note that in 2011, the first contribution ($2 million) of a multi-year, multi-million 
dollar contribution was made by the Canadian In ternational Developmen t Agency (CIDA) on 
                                                      
1One table is attached identifying technical assistance committed to developing countries in 2011. 
Canada has provided technical assist ance updates for 2010 (G/SPS/GEN/1 149), 2009 (G/SPS/ GEN/1099), 2008 
(G/SPS/GEN/1027), 20 07 (G/SPS/GEN/1008), 2005 -2006 (G/SPS/GEN/765), 20 00-2004 (G/SPS /GEN/728), 
and for years prior to 2000 (G/SPS/GE N/143/Rev.1/Add.1). G/SPS/GEN/1196 
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  behalf of Canada to the WTO Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF).  A total of 
$5 million over the period 2011-2014 will be provided to the STDF as a financial contribution to the Facility's work in the coordination of international SPS activities and SPS capacity building in developing and least developed countries. 
6. In all, 18 projects are listed  for the period January to December 2011.  Some of the 
projects listed are multi-year pr ojects.  Projects are only repor ted once and generally in the 
year in which the project is initiated unless subsequent funded project extensions occur.  G/SPS/GEN/1196 
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  TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY CANADA 
JANUARY 2011 – DECEMBER 2011 
  
Sector Description of Particular 
Programme Form of 
Assistance: Provided to Contact 
Animal Health Study tour and training program 
in aquatic animal health for two 
Russian officials from the 
Federal Service for Veterinary 
and Phytosanitary Services. (18-28 June 2011)  
 Training  Russian 
Federation Rolf.Schoenert@inspection.
gc.ca 
Animal Health Bovine Spongiform 
Encephalopathy (BSE) prevention, diagnostics and 
response training provided to 
four Department of Agriculture scientists from Indonesia. 
(3-14 July 2011) 
 Training Indonesia Rolf.Schoenert@inspection.
gc.ca 
Animal Health Visit from six member 
delegation from the National 
Bureau of Agricultural 
Commodity and Food Standard (ACFS) led by the Secretary 
General for ACFS to exchange 
information. 
(18 July 2011) 
 Information Thailand Rolf.Schoenert@inspection.
gc.ca 
Animal Health Study Tour to Canada by four 
officials from the National 
Veterinary Research & 
Quarantine Service (NVRQS) to gain information on 
veterinary biologics and  
genetics. (5 October  2011) 
 Information South Korea Rolf.Schoenert@inspection.
gc.ca 
Animal Health Study tour to Canada on 
zoonotic diseases for eight participants from the Ministry 
of Health in Laos and the 
Ministry of Health, Disease Surveillance Bureau, and focal 
point for Risk Communication 
on Emerging Infectious Diseases for ASEAN in 
Cambodia. 
(24 October 2011) 
 Capacity 
building Lao, People's 
Dem. Rep. and Cambodia Bernadette.Ling@phac-
aspc.gc.ca G/SPS/GEN/1196 
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  Sector Description of Particular 
Programme Form of 
Assistance: Provided to Contact 
Animal Health Study Tour to Canada by six 
officials from the Malaysia Department of Veterinary 
Services (DVS) to gain 
information on animal health genetics. 
(7 November 2011)
  
 Information Malaysia Chris.Anderson@agr.gc.ca 
Animal Health Three scientists from Canada 
invited to speak, along with 
Transmissible Spongiform 
Encepalopathy (TSE) experts from the US and Japan, 
participated in at an 
International Seminar on Prions held in Taipei. 
(15-18 November 2011) 
 Information Chinese Taipei Rolf.Schoenert@inspection.
gc.ca 
Animal Health One week training for four 
researchers from Kyrgyz 
Research Institute of Veterinary Medicine on rabies diagnostics 
at Ottawa Laboratory. 
(5-9 December 2011)   Training Kyrgyzstan Christine.Fehlner-
Gardiner@inspection.gc.ca 
Plant Health Two offici als from the Council 
of Agriculture of Taiwan visited 
with Seed Science and Technology Section (SSTS) 
Laboratory in Saskatoon to gain 
information on genetically modified organisms (GMO) 
detection, risk assessments of 
plants with novel traits and identification of seed-borne 
diseases. 
(24 October 2011) 
 Information Chinese Taipei Janine.Maruschak@inspecti
on.gc.ca 
Plant Health Study tour on phytosanitary 
import inspection and controls for SENASA Plant Export 
Specialist from Chile. 
(4-8 December 2011)  Capacity 
building Chile Rolf.Schoenert@inspection.
gc.ca 
 Food Safety One week training in 
Trichinella sp.  diagnostics at 
the Centre for Food-Borne and Animal Parasitology Laboratory 
in Saskatoon for four 
government officials in the Ministry of Agriculture and 
Ministry of Health, Socialist 
Republic of Viet Nam. (10-14 January 2011) Training Viet Nam Rolf.Schoenert@inspection.
gc.ca  G/SPS/GEN/1196 
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  Sector Description of Particular 
Programme Form of 
Assistance: Provided to Contact 
 Food Safety One week study tour for eight 
participants from the Vietnamese government 
(Ministry of Health) and FAO 
regional office in Hanoi on Canada’s Food Safety 
Inspection System. 
(14-18 February 2011) 
 Capacity 
Building Viet Nam 
 Rolf.Schoenert@inspection.
gc.ca 
 Food Safety Information sharing on 
Canada’s Food Import Control System at a two day workshop 
and international seminar on 
Food Import Control organized by the Food and Drug 
Administration in Taipei.  
(26 June – 1 July 2011)  Capacity 
Building Chinese Taipei Rolf.Schoenert@inspection.
gc.ca 
Food Safety Asia Pacific Economic 
Cooperation (APEC) regional 
food defence workshop held at Kasetsart University in 
conjunction with United States 
FDA and USDA, and participation of Canada, New 
Zealand, China, Philippines and 
Thailand as regulatory agencies 
sharing information on 
prevention of intentional contamination of a food supply.  
(19-21 September 2011) Information  APEC 
members: Chile; 
China; Indonesia;  
Malaysia; 
Mexico; Papua New Guinea; 
Peru; 
Philippines; 
Russia; 
Singapore; Chinese Taipei; 
Thailand; Viet 
Nam   Darren.Slevin@inspection. 
gc.ca 
Animal 
Health, 
Biosecurity & 
Food Safety Five day visit to Canada by 
three senior officials from 
India’s Ministry of Agriculture, 
Department of Animal Husbandry, Forestry and 
Fisheries. The program 
provided an overview of Canada’s veterinary inspection 
systems, biosecurity measures, 
surveillance and epidemiology programs, disease control and 
foreign animal disease 
measures to prevent introduction of disease, 
traceability program, food 
safety program, and artificial 
insemination program.  
(26-30 September 2011)   Capacity 
Building India verna.mitura@agr.gc.ca G/SPS/GEN/1196 
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  Sector Description of Particular 
Programme Form of 
Assistance: Provided to Contact 
Animal Health 
& Food Safety Study tour to Canada by three 
officials from South Korea’s Ministry for Food, Agriculture, 
Forestry and Fisheries and the 
Animal, Plant and Fisheries Quarantine and Inspection 
Agency to gain information on 
Canada's Bovine Spongiform 
Encephalopathy (BSE) control 
systems and related components of the Canadian beef value 
chain. 
(24-28 July 2011)  Information Republic of 
Korea Carlos.Reyes@agr.gc.ca 
Animal 
Health, Plant 
Health & Food Safety Two day workshop in Canada 
with Standards Council of 
Canada (SCC) to train three Brazilian government officers 
in WTO notification and best 
practices in inter-departmental collaboration at the national 
level. 
(1-2 March 2011)  Capacity 
building Brazil aolvera@scc.ca  
Animal 
Health, Plant 
Health & Food 
Safety Financial contribution as a 
donor partner to the Standards 
and Trade Development 
Facility (STDF) at the WTO to 
provide technical assistance to least developed and developing 
countries towards capacity 
building in sanitary and phytosanitary measures and 
SPS institutional strengthening 
through STDF funded project preparation grants, projects and 
the international coordination of 
information sharing activities in SPS capacity building. 
(2011 - 2014) 
 Funding Global  Yvon.Marsolais@acdi-
cida.gc.ca 
 
 
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