(Embassy – Jeff Davis)
As Canadians rang in the new year, the government rolled out a series of stringent new regulatory controls governing what can – and cannot – be labelled a product of Canada. And while the government says the new rules aim simply to better protect and inform Canadian consumers, some see this as a protectionist move aimed to counteract similar country of origin labelling rules recently enacted in the United States.
Under the new regime, which came into effect December 31, a food product can only be labelled "Product in Canada" if all or virtually all of its contents, as well as processing and labour, are Canadian. A few exceptions are permitted for minor ingredients such as spices, additives and vitamins, but foreign content is not to exceed two per cent.
The new regulations set the bar much higher than the previous law, which dated back to the 1980s. Under the old regime, a food product could be labelled "Made in Canada" if 51% of its production costs were incurred in Canada.
"Our new guidelines are designed to redefine Canadian food content labels to better reflect the true origins of products in today's global marketplace," said Prime Minister Stephen Harper when announcing the new regulations in May. "Our government is tightening the definitions of these familiar labels so Canadians know exactly what they're getting, and get exactly what they want."
The new regulatory regime also changed the rules regarding products labelled "Made in Canada." Now, the made-in-Canada statement must be qualified by adding "from domestic and imported ingredients" or "from imported ingredients."
The new regulations are not mandatory, which means companies can choose not to identify where a product comes from. However, if they want to identify something as a product of Canada, for example if they feel it will increase sales, they must abide by the new rules. Read more here.
