Chers clients, collègues et amis, Nous sommes ravis d'annoncer l'arrivée de notre nouvel associé, Luc Bélanger. Cet ajout stratégique renforce non seulement l'expertise de notre équipe, mais nous permet également de mieux servir nos clients en leur offrant des services juridiques en français et en leur apportant une connaissance approfondie de la réglementation sur le marché canadien. Luc apporte avec lui une riche expérience en droit réglementaire, ayant travaillé plus récemment en tant que président de la Commission de révision agricole du Canada, statuant sur les violations et les sanctions ..read more

Dear valued clients, colleagues, and friends, We are thrilled to announce the addition of our newest partner, Luc Bélanger. This strategic addition not only strengthens our team's depth of expertise but also allows us to better serve our clients by offering legal services in French and providing extensive regulatory knowledge across the Canadian market. Luc brings with him a wealth of experience in regulatory law, having worked most recently as chairperson of the Canada Agricultural Review Tribunal, adjudicating over violations and administrative monetary penalties between regulated parties an ..read more

The Cosmetic Regulations, which exist under the Food and Drugs Act, came into force in 2006 and have not experienced a significant amendment since. The current regulations allow industry to label the cosmetic either by individually identifying the fragrance ingredient or using the term “parfum” at the end of the list of ingredients. For consumers with allergies or sensitivities, manufacturers aren’t required to provide much information to help guide them when trying to avoid products that may contain ingredients that could cause some form or reaction. Since the Cosmetic Regulations came into f ..read more

Mexico and Canada have signed a memorandum of understanding in relation to the equivalency of their organic standards this past week. From the Canadian perspective, Mexico is joining the US, UK, EU, Taiwan, Costa Rica, Japan, and Switzerland in becoming equivalent to the Canada Organic Regime. The Canada Mexico Organic Equivalency Arrangement relates to the following categories of products: agricultural products of plant origin processed foods of plant origin livestock processed food products containing livestock ingredients beekeeping products In January of 2020, I spoke with stak ..read more

Each year at G. S. Jameson & Company, we develop a video where we try to capture the most significant developments to food regulation that are happening in Canada. The hope is that our Canadian and international friends can take a lunch break to learn enough to do some issue spotting for their clients, employer, students, or simply to keep their knowledge up to date. In 2022, there were an overwhelming number of changes to the Canadian marketplace that either were implemented or are going to happen soon. For what it's worth, we probably say that every year. But this year, it certainly fee ..read more

Food charities make up some of Canada’s oldest not-for-profits. These charities continue to play an integral part in Canada’s public support architecture. In our experience working and volunteering with food charities, the operations on the ground are wholly consuming: staff, management and directors are passionate about pursuing the charitable purposes of the organization. At times, non-operational aspects of some charities can end up shuffled down the agenda at board meetings, for better or worse. It is for those organizations in Ontario, food focused or not, who we write to in this blog pos ..read more

If you shop at a major grocery store in Canada, you have probably noticed that your grocery bill has gone up in the past year. And, by now, you may have heard that the Competition Bureau (“Bureau”) intends to investigate the rising price of food, increasing at the fastest rate in 40 years, at major grocery stores in Canada. While supply chain crises, exacerbated by a global pandemic, inflation, and war, have certainly contributed to the rising price of food, the Competition Bureau questions whether lack of competition between grocery retailers may also be to blame. The majority of Canadians sh ..read more

Most Canadians will remember Bisphenol A (“BPA”) for making headlines a decade ago. In 2008 studies found that BPA, a chemical best known for its use in hard plastic containers, leached out of these plastics when heated. When this was first discovered, Health Canada initially stated that this was of no concern to Canadian consumers. Shortly thereafter, Health Canada modified its guidance to note that newborns and infants were at risk if exposed to heated plastics containing BPA. Today, Canada regulates the use of BPA for newborns and infants by making it illegal to manufacture, import, adverti ..read more

In June 2022, the Minister of Environment released the long- anticipated Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations: SOR/2022-138 pursuant to subsection 93(1) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. These regulations prohibit the manufacture, import, and sale of certain single-use plastics in Canada: straws (with some exceptions), checkout bags, ring carriers, certain foodservice ware, cutlery, and stir sticks. As of this December, the manufacturing and importation of single-use plastics will be prohibited, and in December of 2023, the sale of single-use plastics will be prohibite ..read more

As legal professionals who routinely have two (plus) tabs open for a client’s label review to compare the regulatory requirements of both the Food and Drug Regulations (“FDRs”) and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (“SFCRs”), it brings us great pleasure to know that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (“CFIA”) shares our pain and wants to create greater alignment between the two regulations. On July 6, 2022 – with the publication of Canada Gazette, Part II – changes were made to both regulations to simplify and reduce duplication of labelling requirements, as well as introduce innovation ..read more