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Bill C-80

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Intellectual Property

National trade-marks

13. Every inspection mark and grade name is a trade-mark and the exclusive property in the trade-mark and the right to its use are vested in Her Majesty in right of Canada.

Use of similar mark or grade name

14. No person shall

    (a) use anything that resembles an inspection mark or a grade name; or

    (b) possess or sell a food, an agricultural or aquatic commodity or an agricultural input in connection with which there is used anything that resembles an inspection mark or a grade name.

PART 2

PROHIBITIONS

Food Safety

Prohibited sales of food

15. No person shall sell food, or distribute free of charge any food, that

    (a) has in or on it a poisonous or harmful substance;

    (b) is injurious to health;

    (c) is adulterated; or

    (d) was manufactured, preserved, packaged or stored under conditions that may render the food injurious to health or without adequate facilities, equipment, procedures and controls to prevent the food from being injurious to health.

Unsafe manufacture, etc., of food

16. No person shall manufacture, preserve, package or store for sale any food under conditions that may render the food injurious to health or without adequate facilities, equipment, procedures and controls to prevent the food from being injurious to health.

Tampering

Tampering with food or inputs

17. (1) No person shall tamper with any food or agricultural input or the label or container of a food or agricultural input with intent to

    (a) render the food injurious to health or cause any person to believe that it is injurious to health; or

    (b) render the input less useful, reduced in market value, injurious to animal or human health or harmful to plants or the environment.

Selling food or inputs that have been tampered with

(2) No person shall sell any food or agricultural input, or distribute free of charge any food, that the person knows or suspects has been tampered with so as to

    (a) render the food injurious to health; or

    (b) render the input less useful, reduced in market value, injurious to animal or human health or harmful to plants or the environment.

Threats

(3) No person shall threaten to

    (a) render a food injurious to health; or

    (b) render the input less useful, reduced in market value, injurious to animal or human health or harmful to plants or the environment.

Claims of tampering with food or inputs

18. (1) No person shall intentionally cause any person to believe that a food or an agricultural input has been tampered with so as to

    (a) render the food injurious to health; or

    (b) render the input less useful, reduced in market value, injurious to animal or human health or harmful to plants or the environment.

Defence

(2) No person commits an offence under subsection (1) if the claim is made in good faith for the purpose of warning another person.

Deceptive Practices

Deceptive preparation or sale

19. (1) No person shall label, package, treat, process or sell any food, agricultural or aquatic commodity or agricultural input, or distribute any food free of charge, in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive or that is likely to create an erroneous impression.

Food labelling and packaging

(2) Any food that is labelled or packaged contrary to the regulations is deemed to be labelled or packaged in a manner that contravenes subsection (1).

Trade in Food, Agricultural or Aquatic Commodities and Agricultural Inputs

Presentation of imports

20. (1) A person who imports into Canada any food, agricultural or aquatic commodity or agricultural input or other thing used in respect of the food, commodity or input shall before or at the time of importation present it to a customs officer or an inspector or officer, as defined in section 2 of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Act, in the manner specified by the customs officer, inspector or officer.

Compliance

(2) A person complies with subsection (1) if the person, when authorized to do so by an inspector, officer or customs officer, provides the inspector or officer, in the manner that he or she specifies, with information relating to an imported food, agricultural or aquatic commodity, agricultural input or thing required to be presented that is satisfactory to the inspector or officer.

Order requiring importation at points of entry

(3) The Minister may, by order, require persons importing food, agricultural or aquatic commodities or agricultural inputs specified in the order to import them at a point of entry specified in the order or at any point of entry.

Publication or notice required for conviction

(4) No person may be convicted of an offence for contravening an order made under subsection (3) unless, before the alleged contravention,

    (a) the order was published in the Canada Gazette; or

    (b) the person was notified of the order or reasonable steps were taken to ensure that it was accessible to persons likely to be affected by it.

Order not a statutory instrument

(5) An order made under subsection (3) is exempt from the application of sections 3, 5 and 11 of the Statutory Instruments Act, but it must be published in the Canada Gazette within 23 days after it is made.

Import of food, commodities or inputs

21. (1) No person shall import a food, agricultural or aquatic commodity or agricultural input unless

    (a) the person does so in accordance with the regulations; and

    (b) the food, commodity or input meets the requirements of the regulations.

Inter-provinci al trade in food and commodities

(2) No person shall send or convey a food or agricultural or aquatic commodity from one province to another unless the food or commodity meets the requirements of the regulations.

Possession

(3) No person shall possess a food, agricultural or aquatic commodity or agricultural input that has been imported or sent or conveyed to another province in contravention of subsection (1) or (2).

Defence

(4) No person may be convicted of an offence for the contravention of subsection (1) or (2) if the food or agricultural or aquatic commodity is for the person's own consumption.

Export of commodities

22. No person shall export an agricultural or aquatic commodity unless the commodity meets the requirements of the regulations.

Preparation or sale of commodities

23. (1) No person shall prepare or sell an agricultural or aquatic commodity for export or interprovincial trade unless

    (a) the person does so in accordance with the regulations; and

    (b) the commodity meets the requirements of the regulations.

Preparation or sale of inputs

(2) No person shall prepare or sell an agricultural input unless the person does so in accordance with the regulations.

Possession of commodities or inputs

(3) No person shall possess an agricultural or aquatic commodity or agricultural input that has been prepared in contravention of subsection (1) or (2).

Tainted commodities

24. No person shall prepare or sell for import, export or interprovincial trade an agricultural or aquatic commodity for human consumption that is tainted, decomposed or unwholesome, as defined in the regulations, or that contains dirt or filth, as defined in the regulations.

Feeds

25. (1) No person shall manufacture, sell or import any feed unless it meets the prescribed standards and is registered, packaged and labelled as prescribed.

Release of novel feeds

(2) No person shall release into the environment any novel feed, as defined in the regulations, unless it meets the requirements of the regulations and is registered as prescribed.

Feed injurious to health

(3) No person shall manufacture, sell or import any feed that may be injurious to animal or human health or harmful to the environment.

Seeds

26. (1) No person shall sell, import or export any seed unless it meets the prescribed standards and is packaged and labelled as prescribed.

Release of seeds with a novel trait

(2) No person shall release any seed with a novel trait, as defined in the regulations, into the environment unless it meets the requirements of the regulations.

Varieties of seeds

(3) No person shall sell or import any seed unless the seed variety is registered as prescribed.

Fertilizer

27. (1) No person shall sell or import any fertilizer or supplement unless it meets the prescribed standards and is registered, packaged and labelled as prescribed.

Release of novel supplements

(2) No person shall release any novel supplement, as defined in the regulations, into the environment, unless it meets the requirements of the regulations and is registered as prescribed.

Sale of harmful fertilizer

(3) No person shall sell any fertilizer or supplement that may be injurious to animal or human health or harmful to plants or the environment when used according to the directions that appear on its label.

PART 3

REGULATIONS, ORDERS AND CERTIFICATES

Regulations

Regulations made on recommenda-
tion of Minister

28. (1) The Governor in Council may, on the recommendation of the Minister, make regulations for carrying out the purposes and provisions of this Act, including regulations

    (a) prescribing standards for food, agricultural or aquatic commodities and agricultural inputs;

    (b) respecting the packaging of, and the containers used for, food, agricultural or aquatic commodities and agricultural inputs;

    (c) respecting the advertising and labelling of food, agricultural or aquatic commodities and agricultural inputs, including registration of their labels;

    (d) regulating or prohibiting the importation of food, agricultural or aquatic commodities and agricultural inputs and respecting documents related to them and the presentation of such food, commodities, inputs and documents at points of entry;

    (e) regulating or prohibiting substances that may be present in food;

    (f) declaring that any food is adulterated if a prescribed substance is present in the food or exceeds a prescribed limit or has been added to or extracted or omitted from the food;

    (g) respecting the manufacture, preservation, testing, storage, transportation and handling of food;

    (h) respecting the sale or distribution free of charge of any food and the collection of information relating to the food after it is sold or distributed free of charge;

    (i) respecting the assessment of the effect of any food on the environment or health;

    (j) prescribing the classes of licences that the Minister may issue, establishing conditions to be attached to any class of licence and respecting the information to be submitted by an applicant for a licence;

    (k) establishing the requirements for quality management, quality control and other similar programs;

    (l) respecting the design, construction, hygiene, sanitation, maintenance and operation of establishments and the equipment and facilities in them;

    (m) prescribing inspection marks and grade names and regulating or prohibiting their use;

    (n) respecting systems to ascertain the places of origin or destination of agricultural or aquatic commodities;

    (o) respecting the manner of disposal or destruction of agricultural or aquatic commodities, or things in an establishment, that may be injurious to health and prohibiting their disposal or destruction in any manner other than the manner prescribed;

    (p) regulating or prohibiting the sale of agricultural or aquatic commodities;

    (q) defining the terms ``tainted'', ``decomposed'', ``unwholesome'', ``dirt'', ``filth'', ``release'', ``novel feed'', ``novel supplement'' and ``novel trait'';

    (r) regulating or prohibiting the slaughtering, processing, assembling or conveying of agricultural or aquatic commodities and agricultural inputs and respecting their grading, pricing, coding, storing and handling;

    (s) regulating or prohibiting the exportation of agricultural or aquatic commodities and seeds;

    (t) respecting the registration of feeds, varieties of seeds, fertilizers and supplements, including

      (i) the information to be submitted by an applicant for registration,

      (ii) the powers of the Minister to refuse, suspend or cancel registrations,

      (iii) the terms and conditions of registration, and

      (iv) the procedure for review of cases of refusal, suspension or cancellation of registration;

    (u) regulating or prohibiting the use of variety names of seeds;

    (v) regulating or prohibiting the testing of agricultural inputs;

    (w) respecting the implementation, in relation to fertilizers or supplements, of

      (i) Article 1711 of the North American Free Trade Agreement, referred to in the definition ``Agreement'' in subsection 2(1) of the North American Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, and

      (ii) paragraph 3 of Article 39 of the Agreement on Trade-related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights set out in Annex 1C to the Agreement Establishing the World Trade Organization, referred to in the definition ``Agreement'' in subsection 2(1) of the World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act;