Vol. 139, No. 19 — September 21, 2005

Registration
SOR/2005-254 August 31, 2005

PLANT PROTECTION ACT

Regulations Amending the Plum Pox Virus Compensation Regulations

P.C. 2005-1494 August 31, 2005

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, pursuant to paragraph 47(q) of the Plant Protection Act (see footnote a), hereby makes the annexed Regulations Amending the Plum Pox Virus Compensation Regulations.

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE PLUM POX VIRUS COMPENSATION REGULATIONS

AMENDMENTS

1. Section 1 of the Plum Pox Virus Compensation Regulations (see footnote 1) is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order:

"certified tree" means a tree that meets

"tested tree" means a tree propagated from budwood and clonal rootstock that originated from plants tested annually by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency and found negative for the presence of plum pox virus. (arbre testé)

2. Subsection 2(1.1) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(1.1) The Minister may order that compensation be paid to a grower for the preparation of the soil for the planting of trees of a type set out in column 1 of Table 2 to the schedule to replace the trees that have been disposed of, or for the replacement trees, only if the replacement trees

(a) have been or will be planted in the same location or in another location that the grower owns or has the possession, care or control of; and

(b) are certified trees or tested trees.

3. (1) Paragraph 4(d) of the Regulations is replaced by the following:

(d) a copy of the Statement of Farming Activities (Form T2042) or Statement A — CAIS Program Information and Statement of Farming Activities for Individuals (Form T1163), whichever form was submitted with the grower's income tax return for one of the following years for which the grower reported farm income for tender fruit sales, namely, the year immediately preceding the year in which the notice referred to in subsection 2(1) was issued, the year in which the notice was issued or the year in which the loss occurred;

(2) Paragraph 4(g) of the Regulations is amended by striking out the word "and" at the end of subparagraph (iii) and by adding the following after that subparagraph:

4. The portion of paragraph 4.1(a) of the English version of the Regulations before subparagraph (i) is replaced by the following:

(a) the grower must keep the books and records, including supporting documents, that are necessary to substantiate the information contained in the application for at least three years after

COMING INTO FORCE

5. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Description

The purpose of the Plant Protection Act (the Act) is to protect plant life and the agricultural and forestry sectors of the Canadian economy by preventing the importation, exportation and spread of plant pests such as insects and diseases. Under the Act and its regulations, inspectors may order the treatment or disposition of plants to control or eradicate plant pests in cases where there are reasonable grounds to believe that a thing is a pest, is or could be infested, or constitutes or could constitute a biological obstacle to the control of a pest. The Act also permits the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to order compensation to be paid from the Consolidated Revenue Fund in respect of any treatment, storage or disposition of a thing required under it or the Plant Protection Regulations. Finally, the Act permits the making of regulations, including those prescribing the terms and conditions on which compensation may be ordered and the maximum levels of compensation.

In May 2000, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) detected Plum Pox Virus (PPV) on nectarine trees in the Niagara region of Ontario and later confirmed its presence throughout the Niagara region, in four other isolated areas in Ontario and on two sites in Nova Scotia. PPV, also known as Sharka disease, is a serious disease of plum, peach, apricot and nectarine trees (Prunus spp.). PPV does not kill trees, but can drastically reduce yields. Plum pox virus does not affect human or animal health.

A three-year PPV program was established in 2001 to contain, eradicate and acquire knowledge about PPV in Canada. As part of that program, the Plum Pox Virus Compensation Regulations (SOR/2001-211) were made in June 2001. These Regulations provide compensation to growers who received a notice from the CFIA during the period from 2000 to 2003 for the treatment and disposal of trees and for the replanting of replacement trees. Although the Regulations cease to apply to growers who received Notices after 2003, growers may still submit an application for compensation within two years after the date of Notice that they have received.

There are three amendments to the Regulations being made at this time:

A Requirement to re-plant only certified or tested trees and definitions for the same

When the Regulations were promulgated in 2001, programs did not exist to certify and test Prunus spp. trees for PPV on a systematic basis. With new testing protocols, it is now possible to ensure that growers who replant trees purchase them from certified or tested tree stock. Under these amendments, if a grower applies for compensation to replace a tree that has been ordered disposed of and decides to replace the tree with a Prunus spp. tree, the grower is required to do so with a tree tested or certified to be free of PPV.

The amendments will also define a "certified tree" and a "tested tree".

Revision of documentation requirements to prove farm income

This amendment is in response to a recommendation from the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations. In the current Regulations, growers are required to attach a copy of their return of income in which they reported taxable farm income. Under these amendments, the grower would be able to satisfy this requirement by including either a Statement of Farming Activities (Form T2042) or a Statement A — CAIS Program Account Information and Statement of Farming Activities for Individuals (Form T1163), whichever form was submitted by the grower with their income tax return.

Further, this amendment will modify the requirement for a grower to have reported farm income in the year preceding the year in which the notice was received, to make it easier for them to prove their claims. Under these amendments, a grower may also have reported such income in the year in which the notice was issued or the year in which the loss occurred.

Replace paragraph 4.1(a) in the English version of the Regulations

This amendment is in response to a recommendation from the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations. The English version of paragraph 4.1(a) does not have the same meaning as the French version. The English version of this paragraph required growers to "keep books and records, including invoices" while the French version requires growers to "keep books and records, including supporting documents". The English version is therefore amended to match the French.

Alternatives

numéro	descriptions
1.	Maintain the status quo
	Unless PPV is eradicated, a major part of Ontario's tender-fruit industry will be affected by the disease, and the probability of the disease spreading to other areas within Ontario, and into other provinces, will be increased. By replanting with certified or tested trees, the risk of PPV spreading will be reduced.
2.	Amend the Regulations (preferred option)
	An improved system for propagating tested and certified trees has been co-developed by government and industry. Therefore, it is incumbent on the CFIA to take advantage of this system. The requirement that growers only replant with certified trees and tested trees before they receive compensation, will help to reduce the risk of PPV being re-introduced into orchards through infested nursery stock. The imposition of this requirement can only be achieved through an amendment to the Regulation.

This option addresses recommendations of the Standing Joint Committee for the Scrutiny of Regulations.

Benefits and Costs

Costs

There are no costs associated with these amendments beyond those already associated with the existing compensation program. The costs for administering the compensation program will continue to be absorbed by the CFIA.

Benefit

The main benefit of the amendment is the requirement that growers replant certified trees and tested trees before they receive compensation, which will further minimize the risk that PPV will spread.

Consultation

Since the May 2000 discovery of PPV in Niagara, extensive consultation on all aspects of the eradication programs (including the compensation components) has been ongoing with industry stakeholders, including tender fruit growers, processors and nursery operators. The CFIA has received strong support from the following groups to continue the eradication efforts to rid Canada of PPV:

— Ontario Tender Fruit Producers' Marketing Board

— Ontario Agricultural Commodity Council

— Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers' Association

— Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food

— Landscape Ontario

— Canadian Landscape and Nursery Association

— PPV International Expert Panel

— Ontario PPV Working Group

— National PPV Task Force

— PPV Technical Advisory Committee

These groups have been key partners with the CFIA in its efforts to enhance detection methods and prevent the spread of PPV to other parts of Canada.

The Regulations were pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on May 14, 2005 for a 15-day comment period. No comments were received.

Compliance and Enforcement

Compliance will be obtained through review of documentation and inspection of replanted trees to verify certified or tested status and recovery of funds if growers are found to be ineligible for compensation.

Contact

Cameron Duff
Acting Director
Plant Health Division
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
59 Camelot Drive
Nepean, Ontario
K1A 0Y9
Telephone: (6l3) 225-2342 (4347)
FAX: (613) 228-6628

Footnote a

S.C. 1990, c. 22

Footnote 1

SOR/2001-211

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