CFIA fees updated for fertilizers and animals

Summary#

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency Fees Notice was updated on December 11, 2023 to match recent changes to two sets of rules: the Fertilizers Regulations and the Health of Animals Regulations. The updates mostly change how services and situations are described—so people know when fees apply—without increasing the fee amounts.

What it does#

• Fertilizers

  • Updates the descriptions of registration-related services for fertilizers and supplements so they match the modernized Fertilizers Regulations.
  • Distinguishes between “minor” and “major” registration amendments and removes some items (for example, changes to label colour/format and declaration of net contents) that no longer require a registration amendment.
  • Removes references to privileges that no longer exist under the updated regulations (for example, “efficacy assessment” and “temporary registrations”) and replaces “renewal” with “re‑registration.”
  • The notice says these wording changes do not change the actual fee amounts.

• Health of animals

  • Revises the wording and definitions in Part 11 (Health of Animals Fees) of the fees notice to align with the Health of Animals Regulations.
  • Adds a clear statement that Part 11 does not apply to permitted emergency transit of regulated animals across Canada and the United States during an emergency (the joint emergency transit approach developed with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service).
  • Adds a payment rule for a specific quarantine-related fee (item 20): a 10% payment is due at the time of reservation or application, with the balance due before the animal is released.

Who's affected#

• Fertilizer manufacturers, distributors and anyone who registers fertilizer or supplement products in Canada.
• Farmers and other businesses that label or change fertilizer products (they may need to amend registrations less often).
• Owners, transporters and importers/exporters of regulated animals, and operators of quarantine facilities.
• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and its staff, who will administer these clarified rules.
• The change around emergency transit also involves coordination with the United States Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (USDA APHIS) when animals move across the Canada–U.S. border in emergencies.

If the source is unclear about whether any other groups are affected, that uncertainty is stated in the explanation above.

Why it matters#

• For fertilizer businesses and product registrants, fewer kinds of product changes will trigger a formal registration amendment. That can save time and reduce costs for routine label or format updates.
• For people evacuating livestock in natural disasters or other emergencies, the rules make it clearer that import/export fees under the CFIA fees notice won’t apply when animals transit under the emergency transit policy. That should speed movements, reduce paperwork at the border, and help protect animal welfare.
• For the CFIA, the changes reduce the need to process fee remissions and related invoices during emergencies, saving administrative effort.
• Overall, these are alignment and clarification changes to an existing fees notice rather than new fees or higher charges.