CFIA's Involvement in the Cannabis Industry in CANADA

Shout out to fellow CANADIANS! Does anyone have either any literature on CFIA’s involvement in the Cannabis Industry or hands-on experience with them?

4 Likes

Calling @Canadians

3 Likes

CO2 GRO Inc. (GROW. TSXV) provides ancillary services to cannabis growers and has installed a number of commercial cannabis greenhouse systems in SW US.

The CFIA approved our dissolving CO2 Foliar Spray Systems for use by all Canadian plant growers last July 4, 2019.

They concluded our Systems that take water from 100% natural to 99.9% natural and 0.1% natural dissolved CO2 gas create a product that is still defined as natural water as Nature can do that also
(i.e. Perrier’s carbonated water reservoir in France).

If a question is about how to file for a Regulatory review of your product or process we have done that. The CFIA was prompt with us, returning a conclusion to us in less than 6 weeks.

I can be reached at:

Sam Kanes

VP CO2 GRO Dev

C 1-416-315-7477

Email
sam.kanes@co2gro.ca

2 Likes

@sam.kanes Thank you very kindly for this valuable information. I will definitely reach out to you as I have a few more questions :blush:

2 Likes

Sorry for the delay in replying to your question.

from the apology you see I’m Canadian :wink:

CFIA does not really interact directly in terms of Cannabis, that is more their Health Canada branch that tends to articulate rules based on little science and lots of emotions.

CFIA, as long as the products do conform to labeling laws, are being registered when they need to be, usually stays out of the industry. However there has been a series of crackdowns at the distribution level and a lot of products are being taken off the catalogs for the above reasons (registration and labels) and sometimes in term of safety of the packaging, like pH adjusters not having the proper safety caps. This is usually the results of competitors snitching on each other and CFIA inspectors acting on complaints. One major US agro company is rumored to have a whole department of people scrutinizing labels, marketing, websites, etc of its competitors and ratting them out relentlessly…

PMRA, another branch of the same government branch does register pesticides, as manufacturer provide their data, some are able to be allowed by the other branch of Health Canada to be used on Cannabis. (it’s all under the same bird’s wing but all operate cluelessly about each other).

However it needs be known that as a whole Health Canada is doing its very best to interfere any way they can with the cannabis industry. They do not want it to succeed and will tax the hell out of producer any way they can. Their inspectors all have their own interpretation of the rules and will enforce them like dictators. Licensed producers are terrified of them and the inspectors know it.

Over time, this will ease out, at least on the dictator attitude, as for the over taxing, knowing the Canadian government, this will only get worst

Cheers

2 Likes