Action #1
Tell the new Minister of Health, The Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, to stop Health Canada’s proposal for corporate self-regulation of new genetically engineered foods. Click here to send your instant email from www.cban.ca/NoExemptions.
Action #2
Calling all organizations! Are you part of a local, regional or national group? CBAN is asking organizations to sign our Open Letter to the Ministers of Health and Agriculture and Agri-Food calling for transparency and government oversight. Click here to read the letter and sign your group. Deadline: November 15, 2021.
“All genetically engineered foods and seeds should be subject to government safety assessments and mandatory reporting to government.”
Action #3
Email the CBAN briefing to your new Member of Parliament. Click here for three easy steps to send your email.
Thank you for your actions.
Background
Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) are proposing to exempt many new genetically engineered (genetically modified or GM) foods and plants from government safety assessments and government oversight.
The departments have just concluded public consultations on proposals to exempt genetically engineered plants that have no foreign DNA – many of which would be produced through the new genetic engineering techniques of genome editing, also called gene editing – from regulation. Instead, product developers would determine the food safety and environmental risk of their own genetically modified organisms (GMOs), without any government oversight.
The proposals would mean unregulated, possibly some unreported, genetically engineered gene-edited foods and seeds on the market.
- Health Canada and the CFIA are proposing to surrender their regulatory authority over many new genetically engineered foods and seeds.
- Health Canada and the CFIA would have no ability to require information from product developers about these unregulated GMOs – they could be released without any reporting to the government.
- There is an inherent conflict of interest in product developers determining if regulations apply to their own products, and in determining their safety.
- All products of genetic engineering, including those with no foreign DNA (produced through the new genetic engineering techniques of gene editing) should be subject to government safety assessments.
- The proposals do not reflect the scientific findings which show that gene editing can result in a range of possible unintended effects that could impact food and environmental safety.
- The government would be asking Canadians to accept corporate GMO safety assurances: to accept unseen corporate safety assessments and corporate science, without any government checks.
- Canadians rely on Health Canada and the CFIA to be independent regulators of genetically engineered products, to ensure food and environmental safety.
- Implementing the proposed guidance would undermine public trust.
For more info and updates see www.cban.ca/NoExemptions