Seeds Regulations

13.1 (1) Any person who wishes to be accredited as a grader or licensed as a sampler shall

• (a) apply for the accreditation or the licence in writing to

  • (i) a conformity verification body, or

  • (ii) the Registrar, if there is no conformity verification body;

• (b) submit to an evaluation that is set by the Registrar and that measures knowledge of the principles and practices for the conditioning, sampling, testing and grading of seed of pedigreed status;

• (c) where the individual wishes to be licensed to sample seed, submit to an evaluation that is set by the Registrar and that measures the individual’s ability to so sample;

• (c.1) where the individual wishes to be accredited to retrieve, identify, classify and report weed seeds and other impurities from officially-recognized samples, submit to an evaluation that is set by the Registrar and that measures the individual’s ability to so retrieve, identify, classify and report;

• (c.2) where the individual wishes to be accredited to grade seed, submit to an evaluation that is set by the Registrar and that measures the individual’s ability to grade seed; and

• (d) where the individual wishes to be accredited to evaluate imported seed and accompanying documents for conformity with these Regulations, submit to an evaluation that is set by the Registrar that measures an individual’s ability to so evaluate.

(1.1) When making an application under subparagraph (1)(a)(ii), the applicant shall include the applicable fee set out in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Fees Notice.

(2) The Registrar shall accredit an individual as a grader for a period ending on December 31 of the following year, and issue a certificate certifying that the individual is an accredited grader,

• (a) on the recommendation of a conformity verification body; or

• (b) if there is no conformity verification body, on payment of the applicable fee set out in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Fees Notice and the individual having obtained a mark of at least 80% on the evaluation referred to in paragraph (1)(b) and at least 80% on the applicable evaluation referred to in paragraph (1)(c.1), (c.2) or (d).

(2.1) The Registrar shall issue to an individual a licence to sample seed, for a period ending on December 31 of the following year,

• (a) on the recommendation of a conformity verification body; or

• (b) if there is no conformity verification body, on payment of the applicable fee set out in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Fees Notice and the individual having obtained a mark of at least 80% on the evaluation referred to in paragraph (1)(b) and at least 80% on the evaluation referred to in paragraph (1)(c).

(3) The following individuals are considered to be accredited graders for the purposes of these Regulations for a period beginning on the day on which this Part comes into force and ending on December 31, 1996, namely, an individual:

• (a) who, immediately before the coming into force of this Part, was authorized to apply official tags or inter-agency tags and seals pursuant to subsection 29(1), as that subsection read immediately before the coming into force of this Part;

• (b) who was personally responsible for the application of official tags or inter-agency tags and seals to seed of one of the Canada Certified grades on behalf of a corporation that was authorized to do so pursuant to subsection 29(1), as that subsection read immediately before the coming into force of this Part; or

• (c) who, immediately before the coming into force of this Part, had been accredited by the Department to test seed for both purity and germination.

(4) [Repealed, SOR/2000-183, s. 39]

(5) Unless the accreditation of a grader or the licence of a sampler has been suspended or cancelled under section 13.2, and subject to subsection 13.2(7), the Registrar shall annually renew the accreditation or the licence, either on the recommendation of a conformity verification body or, if there is no conformity verification body, on payment of the applicable annual fee set out in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Fees Notice before January 1 of the year in respect of which the accreditation or licence is to be renewed.

(6) The accreditation of a person as a grader or sampler is limited to those activities referred to in paragraphs (1)(b) to (d) for which the person has been evaluated and is qualified.

(7) If a conformity verification body refuses to make a recommendation to the Registrar that an applicant’s accreditation as a grader be certified or renewed, the conformity verification body shall send a notice of that decision to the applicant by registered mail, giving the reasons for the decision and advising that the applicant may request that the Registrar review the decision. The conformity verification body shall also send a copy of the notice, including the reasons, to the Registrar.

(8) The applicant may, within 30 days after the day on which the notice is received, make a written request to the Registrar for a review of the decision.

(9) The request shall include the reasons why the applicant believes that the Registrar should review the decision and may include or be accompanied by any documentation or information that the applicant considers appropriate. The request shall also include the applicable fee set out in the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Fees Notice.

(10) On receipt of the request, the Registrar shall review the decision.

(11) The review shall be conducted as informally and expeditiously as possible and in such a way as to permit the applicant to present the applicant’s case and to reply to any evidence, but shall not include oral representations unless the Registrar determines that they are necessary.

(12) If the Registrar finds that the conformity verification body should have recommended that the applicant’s accreditation as a grader be certified or renewed, the Registrar shall certify the accreditation or renew it, as the case may be, as if the recommendation had been made.

(13) The Registrar shall send a notice of the Registrar’s decision and the reasons for it to the applicant by registered mail.