Fertilizers Regulations (C.R.C., c. 666)

Registration

4 [Repealed, SOR/79-365, s. 4]

• 5 (1) In this section, application means an application for registration of a fertilizer or supplement and applicant means a person who makes an application.

• (2) Every application shall be made to the President of the Agency.

• (3) Every application shall be accompanied by the following information with respect to the fertilizer or supplement to which the application relates:
  

  • (a) the text that is to be included on the label of the fertilizer or supplement in the marketplace; and

  • (b) any other information that is sufficient to determine whether it is a fertilizer or a supplement and its composition and its safety.

• (4) Every application in respect of a fertilizer-pesticide or supplement-pesticide shall be accompanied by

  • (a) information establishing that the fertilizer-pesticide or supplement-pesticide complies with the provisions of the Pest Control Products Act and its regulations with respect to human, animal or plant health or the environment; and

  • (b) any decision the Minister of Health has issued under the Pest Control Products Act with respect to any components of the fertilizer-pesticide or supplement-pesticide that are pesticides.

• (5) Every application in respect of a fertilizer or supplement shall contain a guaranteed analysis of the fertilizer or supplement as prescribed in section 15.

• (5.1) and (5.2) [Repealed, SOR/2004-80, s. 11]

• (6) An applicant who is not resident in Canada shall

  • (a) provide the name and address of an agent or mandatary who resides in Canada to whom any notice or correspondence under the Act may be sent; and

  • (b) inform the President of the Agency if there is a change of address or if the agent or mandatary ceases to represent the applicant.

• (6.1) An application for the registration of a fertilizer or supplement shall be refused if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the fertilizer or supplement does not conform to the requirements of the Health of Animals Act, or any regulations made under that Act, respecting products of a rendering plant, animal by-products, animal food, animal products or manure.

• (7) An application in respect of a fertilizer-pesticide or supplement-pesticide shall be refused if there are reasonable grounds to believe that the fertilizer-pesticide or supplement-pesticide is or contains a pesticide that does not comply with the provisions of the Pest Control Products Act or its regulations with respect to human, animal or plant health or the environment.

• (8) The fertilizer or supplement shall be registered and a registration number shall be assigned to it if the President of the Agency’s evaluation of the application in respect of that fertilizer or supplement and of all information that is provided by the applicant or that is publicly available indicates that

  • (a) the application is in respect of a fertilizer or supplement that is not exempt from registration;

  • (b) the fertilizer or supplement does not present a risk of harm to human, animal or plant health or the environment, except pests, if it is used as specified in its directions for use or in an amount that is not in excess of the amount that is necessary to achieve its intended purposes; and

  • (c) the label with which the fertilizer or supplement is intended to be labelled in the marketplace meets the requirements set out in sections 16 to 21.

• (9) Every registration of a fertilizer or supplement expires at the end of the 60-month period that begins on the day on which a registration number is assigned to the fertilizer or supplement.

6 A fertilizer or supplement that is not required to be registered shall not be registered.

7 A person shall not change the label, chemical composition or ingredients of a registered fertilizer or supplement if the change can reasonably be expected to affect its performance as a fertilizer or supplement, as the case may be, its safety or its use, unless the registration is amended accordingly.

• 8 (1) Subject to subsection (4), the President of the Agency may cancel the registration of any fertilizer or supplement if he or she believes on reasonable grounds that, with respect to that fertilizer or supplement, any of the following are contravened:

  • (a) any of the provisions of the Act or these Regulations;

  • (b) any of the provisions of the Health of Animals Act or of regulations made under that Act that refer to products of a rendering plant, animal by-products, animal food, animal products or manure; or

  • (c) any of the provisions of the Pest Control Products Act or of regulations made under that Act with respect to human, animal or plant health or the environment.

• (2) In deciding whether to cancel a registration in accordance with subsection (1), the President of the Agency shall take information related to the following factors into account:

  • (a) whether cancellation of the registration is necessary in order to mitigate risk of harm to human, animal or plant health or the environment;

  • (b) whether the cancellation is unnecessary because the contravention has been corrected or is expected to be corrected in a timely way without risk of harm to human, animal or plant health or the environment; and

  • (c) whether there is a history of contravention of the provisions referred to in paragraphs (1)(a) to (c) in respect of the fertilizer or supplement.

• (3) If the President of the Agency intends to cancel a registration, he or she shall forward to the registrant by registered mail a notice indicating that the registration is to be cancelled, along with the reasons for the proposed cancellation unless, within 30 days after the day on which the notice was mailed, the registrant notifies the President that they wish to have an opportunity to be heard in respect of the proposed cancellation.

• (4) If the registrant notifies the President of the Agency that they wish to have an opportunity to be heard, the President shall notify the registrant by registered mail of the date and time of a hearing to determine whether the registration shall be cancelled and any details required to allow the registrant to participate. The hearing shall be held within 30 days after the day on which the President receives notice that the registrant wishes to have an opportunity to be heard.

• (5) If a registrant fails to notify the President of the Agency that they wish to have an opportunity to be heard or fails to satisfy the President that the registration should not be cancelled, the President may cancel that registration.

Standards

9 For the purpose of paragraph 3(b) of the Act,

• (a) a fertilizer or supplement shall not contain

  • (i) any substance or mixture of substances that, if the fertilizer or supplement is used as specified in its directions for use or in an amount that is not in excess of the amount that is necessary to achieve its intended purposes, would leave in the tissues of a plant a residue of a poisonous or harmful substance,

  • (ii) except in accordance with a permit issued under section 160 of the Health of Animals Regulations for the purpose of section 6.4 of those Regulations, proteins derived from specified risk material, in any form, that was removed from the carcasses of cattle or that is contained in the carcasses of cattle that died or were condemned before they otherwise would have been slaughtered for human consumption as food, or

  • (iii) major plant nutrients, secondary nutrients or micronutrients that are present at toxic levels if the fertilizer or supplement is used as specified in its directions for use or in an amount not in excess of the amount that is necessary to achieve its intended purposes;

• (b) a fertilizer-pesticide or supplement-pesticide shall not be nor contain a pesticide that does not comply with the requirements of the Pest Control Products Act in respect of the approved use and the application rate for that pesticide;

• (c) a fertilizer or supplement that is represented to be a fertilizer or supplement whose term is set out in the List of Materials shall meet the definition in that List that corresponds to that term; and

• (d) a fertilizer or supplement that is represented to contain a fertilizer or supplement whose term is set out in the List of Materials shall contain an ingredient that meets the definition in that List that corresponds to that term.

10 [Repealed, SOR/2013-79, s. 2]

10.1 [Repealed, SOR/93-155, s. 1]

10.2 [Repealed, SOR/2020-232, s. 8]

10.3 [Repealed, SOR/2013-79, s. 4]

11 [Repealed, SOR/2020-232, s. 8]

12 [Repealed, SOR/2020-232, s. 8]

13 [Repealed, SOR/2013-79, s. 6]

14 [Repealed, SOR/2013-79, s. 6]

Guaranteed Analysis

• 15 (1) The guaranteed analysis of a fertilizer or supplement shall include, if applicable,

  • (a) the minimum amount of total nitrogen, available phosphoric acid and soluble potash expressed in per cent;

  • (b) the minimum amount of each secondary nutrient, expressed in per cent on an elemental basis;

  • (c) the amount of each micronutrient, expressed in per cent on an elemental basis;

  • (d) in the case of an untreated phosphatic fertilizer, the minimum amount of total phosphoric acid and the minimum amount of available phosphoric acid, expressed in per cent;

  • (e) except in the circumstances in which paragraph (f) applies, the genus and species of each active ingredient that is a microorganism as well as the following information:

    • (i) for each microorganism that is a viable cell, the number of viable cells per gram of that microorganism, and

    • (ii) for each microorganism that is not a viable cell, another descriptor of the concentration of that microorganism on a per gram basis;

  • (f) if the fertilizer or supplement contains an active ingredient that is a complex community of microorganisms that is taken from a single natural environment and whose composition is maintained without further manipulation, a descriptor of the concentration of viable microorganisms on a per gram basis;

  • (g) if the fertilizer or supplement contains an active ingredient that is intended to neutralize acidity,

    • (i) the amount of calcium and magnesium, if any, expressed in per cent on an elemental basis,

    • (ii) its neutralizing value, expressed in per cent of the acid neutralizing capacity of calcium carbonate, and

    • (iii) the range of particle sizes of solid materials;

  • (h) if the fertilizer or supplement contains an active ingredient that is an acidifying material intended to increase the hydrogen ion concentration of a growing medium, its acidifying value, expressed in per cent of the basic neutralizing capacity of hydrochloric acid;

  • (i) in the case of a fertilizer or supplement that is represented to contain organic matter, the amount of organic matter expressed in per cent and the moisture content expressed in per cent; and

  • (j) the amount of any other active ingredient expressed in per cent.

• (2) If subsection (1) requires the concentration of an active ingredient to be expressed in per cent, but the active ingredient is present in a concentration of less than 0.001%, the guaranteed analysis may instead indicate its concentration, on a per gram basis, using another unit of measure.

• (3) In addition to the information required under subsection (1), the guaranteed analysis of a fertilizer-pesticide or supplement-pesticide shall include the concentration of each active ingredient, as defined in subsection 2(1) of the Pest Control Products Act, of the pesticide expressed in accordance with subparagraph 26(1)(h)(iii) of the Pest Control Products Regulations.

Labelling

15.1 Every person who packages, or causes to be packaged, a fertilizer or supplement or who imports a packaged fertilizer or supplement shall ensure that the package is labelled in accordance with sections 16 to 21.

• 16 (1) Subject to section 18, a package containing a fertilizer, other than a customer formula fertilizer, or a supplement shall be labelled with

  • (a) the name and address of the manufacturer of the fertilizer or supplement or of the registrant or, in the case of a fertilizer or supplement that is not registered under these Regulations, the name and address of the person who packaged or caused the fertilizer or supplement to be packaged;

  • (b) the name of the fertilizer or supplement;

  • (c) if the fertilizer or supplement is registered, its registration number;

  • (d) if the fertilizer or supplement is exempt from registration and contains one or more registered fertilizers or registered supplements, the registration number of each of those registered fertilizers or registered supplements;

  • (e) unless the fertilizer or supplement is exempt from registration under subsection 3.1(3) or (4), its directions for use;

  • (f) the weight of the fertilizer or supplement;

  • (g) the guaranteed analysis;

  • (h) a statement setting out any precaution that is necessary to mitigate a risk of harm to human, animal or plant health, or the environment (other than pests);

  • (i) if the fertilizer or supplement is or contains prohibited material as defined in subsection 162(1) of the Health of Animals Regulations, statements that indicate that

    • (i) feeding the fertilizer or supplement to cattle, sheep, deer or other ruminants is prohibited and punishable under the Health of Animals Act,

    • (ii) the fertilizer or supplement is not to be used on pasture land or other grazing areas for ruminants,

    • (iii) the fertilizer or supplement is not to be ingested, and

    • (iv) a person must wash their hands after they use the fertilizer or supplement;

  • (j) the lot number of the fertilizer or supplement; and

  • (k) if the fertilizer or supplement is exempt from registration, the term for each component of the fertilizer or supplement, if any, that is set out in the List of Materials, and any other information that is sufficient to demonstrate that the fertilizer or supplement is exempt.

• (2) A fertilizer or supplement that is exempt from registration under subsection 3.1(3) or (4) shall also be labelled with the registration number of any registered fertilizer or supplement it contains.

• (3) The information that is required under subsection (1) to be shown on a label of a registered fertilizer or supplement shall be consistent with the information provided with respect to that fertilizer or supplement that was evaluated in accordance with subsection 5(8).

• (4) A package containing a customer formula fertilizer that has intentionally incorporated in it, or is represented to contain, a pesticide or a micronutrient shall be labelled with

  • (a) the name and address of the manufacturer of the fertilizer;

  • (b) a statement setting out any precaution that is necessary to mitigate a risk of harm to human, animal or plant health or the environment (other than pests);

  • (c) the lot number of the fertilizer;

  • (d) the guaranteed analysis prescribed in section 15;

  • (e) the name and amount of each active ingredient of any pesticide in the fertilizer expressed in per cent;

  • (f) the directions for use, in the case of a fertilizer containing a pesticide;

  • (g) the name and address of the person who is to use the fertilizer; and

  • (h) the weight of the fertilizer.

  • (i) [Repealed, SOR/2020-232, s. 10]

• (4.1) [Repealed, SOR/2004-80, s. 13]

• (5) A package containing a customer formula fertilizer that does not have intentionally incorporated in it, and is not represented to contain, a pesticide or a micronutrient shall be labelled with

  • (a) the name and address of the manufacturer of the fertilizer and the name of the person who is to use the fertilizer;

  • (b) a statement setting out any precaution that is necessary to mitigate a risk of harm to human, animal or plant health, or the environment;

  • (c) the lot number of the fertilizer;

  • (d) the guaranteed analysis; and

  • (e) the weight of the lot or shipment.

• (6) If any person requests a document in English or French that lists the ingredients that are contained in a fertilizer or supplement that present a risk of harm to the health of any human or animal and that do not appear on the label, the document shall be provided by

  • (a) the person who packaged the fertilizer or supplement or caused it to be packaged; or

  • (b) in the case of an imported fertilizer or supplement, the person who imported it.

• (7) Subsection (1) does not apply to a package containing only peat, peat moss, sphagnum moss, coconut coir, tree bark, perlite or vermiculite, as those terms are defined in the List of Materials, or any combination of those materials, if the package is labelled with

  • (a) a statement indicating which of those materials are present in the supplement, and their proportions;

  • (b) the name and address of the person who packaged the supplement or caused it to be packaged;

  • (c) the name of the supplement;

  • (d) the volume or the weight of the supplement;

  • (e) the lot number of the supplement; and

  • (f) a statement setting out any precaution that is necessary to mitigate a risk of harm to human, animal or plant health or the environment.