CFIA Repeals Outdated and Unnecessary Regulations to Cut Red Tape

These changes streamline how the CFIA manages plant health rules, reduce red tape, and support the ongoing protection of Canada’s agricultural resources.

The CFIA has repealed outdated and unnecessary regulations as part of its commitment to reducing red tape and regulatory burdens on stakeholders.

These changes remove rules that are no longer needed under the Plant Protection Regulations.

The CFIA has also announced dropping the requirement to send original hard copies when information has already been submitted electronically, along with several other changes.

The repealed regulations

In a news release published on December 3, 2025, the CFIA stated that a red tape review was conducted, which identified several regulations that are no longer applicable or no longer required: 

Spent regulations

Regulations that once set parameters for compensation for:

• • Stone fruit trees disposed of due to Plum Pox Virus between 2004 and 2011 (SOR/2005-131)
  • Trees removed to control the Asian Long-Horned Beetle between 2013 and 2019 (SOR/2004-113)
  • Birds depopulated during a 2004 Avian Influenza outbreak in British Columbia (SOR/2004-150)

Outdated regulations

Regulations related to the Golden Nematode pest in Central Saanich, British Columbia, with restrictions now narrowed to only the small area still affected:

• • Restrictions on the production of eggplants and tomatoes (SOR/82-448)
  • The prohibition of the transportation and movement of plants and other material likely to spread Golden Nematode (SOR/80-260)
  • Restrictions on infested property from producing potatoes and the prohibition of selling or disposing of potatoes produced there (SOR/82-186)

Updated rules for documents and movement controls

In a Notice to Industry, the CFIA also updated certain administrative requirements under the Plant Protection Regulations.

Previously, businesses that submitted documents to the CFIA electronically were still required to provide original hard copies.

But now, under the amended regulations, this automatic requirement has been removed.

The CFIA may still request original hard copies in specific cases, but it is no longer mandatory.

The amendments also change how domestic movement prohibitions and restrictions are managed.

Instead of being listed in Schedules I and II, these requirements are now consolidated in a single document, Movement Prohibitions and Restrictions in Canada under the Plant Protection Act.

Moreover, the subsection of the Plant Protection Regulations that governs phytosanitary certificates has been updated to ensure Canada can fully participate in future electronic exchanges of these certificates between governments.

Previous measures to reduce red tape

In addition to repealing outdated and unnecessary regulations, in October, the CFIA announced seven measures to reduce red tape.

These were:

1. Removing prescriptive labelling requirements for fresh fruits and vegetables
2. Reducing traceability labelling requirements for hatching eggs and chicks to align with current industry practices
3. Eliminating mandatory grading requirements for produce destined for further processing, manufacturing, or preserving
4. Updating import requirements for veal producers to have more flexibility to optimize the value of their products
5. Moving certain fresh fruit and vegetable grade standards under the Fruit and Vegetable Dispute Resolution Corporation so they can be updated more quickly
6. Making it easier and faster to update animal import rules in alignment with international standards or new science
7. Requiring hatching eggs imported from the U.S. to licensed Canadian hatcheries to be tested for Salmonella Enteritidis 

These changes demonstrate the CFIA’s ongoing efforts to eliminate unnecessary red tape and maintain a high level of protection for Canada’s food and agricultural systems.

At Cole International, we offer customs brokerage services to help Canadian businesses keep their import processes simple, efficient, and compliant with CBSA and CFIA requirements.