Seeds Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. S-8)

Short Title

Marginal note:Short title

1 This Act may be cited as the Seeds Act.

Interpretation

Marginal note:Definitions

2 In this Act,

analyst

analyst means a person designated as an analyst pursuant to section 5; (analyste)

document

document means anything on which information that is capable of being understood by a person, or read by a computer or other device, is recorded or marked; (document)

environment

environment means the components of the Earth and includes

• (a) air, land and water,

• (b) all layers of the atmosphere,

• (c) all organic and inorganic matter and living organisms, and

• (d) the interacting natural systems that include components referred to in paragraphs (a) to (c); (environnement)

grade

grade, in respect of seed, includes any class of seed; (catégorie)

grade name

grade name includes any mark, description or designation of a grade; (dénomination de catégorie)

inspector

inspector means a person designated as an inspector pursuant to section 5; (inspecteur)

item to which this Act applies

item to which this Act applies means

• (a) seed,

• (b) anything used in an activity regulated under this Act, and

• (c) a document that is related to seed or to any activity regulated under this Act; (chose visée par la présente loi)

label

label includes any legend, word, mark, symbol or design applied or attached to, included in, belonging to or accompanying any seed or package; (étiquette)

Minister

Minister means the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food; (ministre)

package

package includes a sack, bag, barrel, case or any other container in which seed is placed or packed; (emballage)

penalty

penalty means an administrative monetary penalty imposed under the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act for a violation; (sanction)

place

place includes any vehicle, vessel, railway car or aircraft; (lieu)

prescribed

prescribed means prescribed by regulation;

seed

seed means any plant part of any species belonging to the plant kingdom, represented, sold or used to grow a plant; (semences)

sell

sell includes agree to sell, or offer, keep, expose, transmit, send, convey or deliver for sale, or agree to exchange or to dispose of to any person in any manner for a consideration. (vente)

Tribunal

Tribunal means the Review Tribunal continued by subsection 27(1) of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act; (Commission)

violation

violation means any contravention of this Act or the regulations that may be proceeded with in accordance with the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalties Act. (violation)

Accredited Laboratories

Marginal note:Power of Minister

2.1 For the purpose of this Act and the regulations, the Minister may designate all or part of any building or place used for grading, testing or analysing seeds as an accredited laboratory.

Prohibitions

Marginal note:Seed not conforming to standard, etc.

• 3 (1) Except as provided by the regulations, no person shall

  • (a) sell, import into Canada or export from Canada any seed unless the seed conforms to the prescribed standard and is marked and packed and the package labelled as prescribed; or

  • (b) sell or advertise for sale in Canada or import into Canada seed of a variety that is not registered in the prescribed manner.

• Marginal note:Grade name resembling other grade name

  (2) No person shall

  • (a) sell, import into Canada or export from Canada seed under a grade name or designation so closely resembling a grade name established under subsection 4(1) as to be likely to be mistaken therefor; or

  • (b) apply to seed or to a package containing seed a grade name or other designation so closely resembling a grade name established under subsection 4(1) as to be likely to be mistaken therefor.

• Marginal note:Exception

  (3) Subsection (2) does not apply if the seed meets the requirements prescribed for the grade, has been graded and inspected as required by the regulations and is marked and packed and the package labelled in the prescribed manner.

Marginal note:Seed presenting risk of harm

3.1 No person shall sell, import or export in contravention of the regulations any seed that presents a risk of harm to human, animal or plant health or the environment.

Marginal note:Recall order — Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act

3.2 No person shall sell seed that is the subject of a recall order referred to in subsection 19(1) of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

• 4 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) establishing grades with appropriate grade names for seeds;

  • (a.1) providing, with respect to grades requiring varietal purity, for the determination of varietal purity of seed crops and, in particular, for any such determination to be made by the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association and any standards established by that Association to be used;

  • (a.2) respecting the sale, importation or exportation of any seed that presents a risk of harm to human, animal or plant health or the environment;

  • (a.3) respecting the sending or conveying from one province to another or the importation or exportation of any seed;

  • (a.4) respecting the sale of any seed that has been imported or is to be exported or to be sent or conveyed from one province to another;

  • (b) prescribing the terms and conditions under which and the manner in which seed crops may be inspected or seeds may be graded or tested;

  • (b.1) respecting licences referred to in section 4.2, including their issuance, the conditions to which they may be subject and their amendment, suspension or revocation;

  • (c) prescribing the minimum standards of purity, germination, quality and disease for seeds;

  • (d) respecting the packing and marking of seeds and the marking and labelling of packages of seeds;

  • (e) prescribing the terms and conditions under which variety names of seeds may be used;

  • (f) exempting, with or without conditions, any item to which this Act applies, or a person or activity in respect of seed, from the application of this Act or the regulations or a provision of this Act or the regulations;

  • (g) respecting the taking of samples and the testing of seeds for the purposes of this Act;

  • (g.1) requiring persons to take or keep samples of any seed, or its package or label, and to provide the Minister or an inspector with, or with access to, those samples, and respecting the manner in which those samples are to be taken or kept and the manner in which they are to be provided or access to them is to be provided;

  • (h) respecting the fees that may be charged for any services provided under this Act;

  • (h.1) prescribing information that shall be given, and prohibiting or restricting the use of variety names, in labelling or advertising seeds for sale or making, in prescribed circumstances, offers of seeds for sale;

  • (h.2) respecting the registration of varieties of seeds and the amendment of the register of such varieties;

  • (h.3) specifying terms and conditions to which registration referred to in paragraph (h.2) shall be subject, including any limitation respecting the duration of any such registration or restricting any effect thereof to a region specified in the regulations;

  • (h.4) prescribing the procedure for review of cases involving the refusal, suspension or cancellation of any registration referred to in paragraph (h.2);

  • (h.5) determining the cases in which and the conditions, including provision of a bond or suretyship, under which seeds shall, for the purposes of this Act, be transported and stored on importation;

  • (h.6) respecting the registration of establishments that prepare seeds and the licensing of operators of those establishments, including the renewal, cancellation and suspension of those registrations and licences and the conditions to which they are subject;

  • (i) respecting the detention, preservation and safeguarding of anything seized under section 8;

  • (i.1) providing for any reasonable costs incidental to any seizure under this section, and to the detention of the thing seized, to be payable by and recoverable from the person entitled to possession thereof at the time of the seizure;

  • (j) respecting the disposition of anything forfeited under section 8;

  • (j.1) requiring persons to prepare, keep or maintain documents and to provide the Minister or an inspector with, or with access to, those documents, and respecting

    • (i) the information in those documents,

    • (ii) the manner in which they are to be prepared, kept or maintained,

    • (iii) the place where they are to be kept or maintained, and

    • (iv) the manner in which they are to be provided or access to them is to be provided;

  • (j.2) respecting the issuance of certificates or other documents for the purpose of section 4.11;

  • (j.3) respecting quality management programs, quality control programs, safety programs, preventive control plans or any other similar programs or plans to be implemented by persons who conduct any activity regulated under this Act;

  • (k) prescribing anything else that by this Act is required to be prescribed; and

  • (l) generally, for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act.

• Marginal note:Weed seeds

  (2) The Minister may, by order, specify the kinds of plants whose seeds are, for the purposes of this Act, weed seeds.

• Marginal note:Paragraphs (1)(a.2) and (a.3)

  (3) Regulations made under paragraph (1)(a.2) or (a.3) may, among other things, establish preclearance or in-transit requirements for any imported seed or anything imported with it.

• Marginal note:Paragraph (1)(j.1)

  (4) Regulations made under paragraph (1)(j.1) may, among other things, require persons who conduct any activity regulated under this Act and who become aware that seed presents a risk of harm to human, animal or plant health or the environment or does not meet the requirements of the regulations to provide written notice to that effect to the Minister or an inspector.

Incorporation by Reference

Marginal note:Incorporation by reference

• 4.1 (1) A regulation made under subsection 4(1) may incorporate by reference any document, regardless of its source, either as it exists on a particular date or as it is amended from time to time.

• Marginal note:Accessibility

  (2) The Minister must ensure that any document that is incorporated by reference in a regulation made under subsection 4(1), including any amendments to the document, is accessible.

• Marginal note:Defence

  (3) A person is not liable to be found guilty of an offence or subjected to an administrative sanction for any contravention in respect of which a document that is incorporated by reference in a regulation made under subsection 4(1) is relevant unless, at the time of the alleged contravention, the document was accessible as required by subsection (2) or it was otherwise accessible to the person.

• Marginal note:No registration or publication

  (4) For greater certainty, a document that is incorporated by reference in a regulation made under subsection 4(1) is not required to be transmitted for registration or published in the Canada Gazette by reason only that it is incorporated by reference.

General

Marginal note:Export certificates

4.11 The Minister may issue any certificate or other document setting out any information that he or she considers necessary to facilitate the export of any seed.

Marginal note:Disposition of samples

4.12 A sample taken by an inspector, or provided to the Minister or an inspector, under this Act may be disposed of in any manner that the Minister considers appropriate.

Marginal note:Consideration of information

4.13 In considering an application made under the regulations in relation to seed, the Minister may consider information that is available from a review or evaluation of seed conducted by the government of a foreign state or of a subdivision of a foreign state or by an international organization, or association, of states.

Licence

Marginal note:Issuance of licence

• 4.2 (1) The President of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency may, subject to the regulations, issue a licence authorizing any person to perform any activity specified in the licence that is related to controlling or assuring the quality of seeds or seed crops, including the sampling, testing, grading or labelling of seeds.

• Marginal note:Conditions

  (2) The President may, subject to the regulations, make the licence subject to any condition that he or she considers appropriate.

• Marginal note:Not transferable

  (3) The licence is not transferable.

• Marginal note:Amendment

  (4) The President may, subject to the regulations, amend, suspend or revoke the licence.