Urgent Action Needed

7 December, 2021 Dear OAPF Supporter,

We have been keeping supporters informed about the Health Canada & CFIA Consultations around the regulation of gene-edited crops. SaskOrganics and the OAPF Committee, along with over 100 other groups, signed on to an open letter to the Ministers, prepared by CBAN, calling for transparency and continued government oversight of all genetically engineered foods and seeds. Despite the call for transparency and oversight from numerous groups and individuals, Health Canada says it will finalize its changes to the regulation of genetically engineered foods tomorrow, December 8th. As a committee of the organic organization of the province of Saskatchewan, we are very concerned with the potential impacts this decision could have on the organic industry.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

CBAN has a new letter that outlines why there should be no exemptions. To send you letter to the Minister of Health today visit www.cban.ca/NoExemptions We are also asking people to call the Honourable Jean-Yves Duclos, Minister of Health office today (613-992-8865) and leave a message. Tell the Minister to stop Health Canada from making changes to the regulation of new gene-edited foods. Health Canada wants to let many new gene-edited crops enter our food system without assessing their risks. Health Canada will let companies assess the safety risks of their own products, without government oversight or transparency. Tell the Minister:

• You want our public regulators at Health Canada to do their job and make sure all gene-edited foods are safe. This should not be left to corporations to conduct their own GM food safety assessments.

• You want the government to provide transparency for Canadians, and not let unregulated gene-edited GM foods onto the market without any notification to the government and public.

• How these changes could affect the organic industry. Gene-edited crops are not allowed under the Canadian Organic Standard and could negatively impact organic markets.

If you are on Facebook or Twitter please also consider sharing CBAN's action alert.

More background and actions at www.cban.ca/NoExemption

Thank you for taking action on this important issue! To learn more about the SaskOragnics' OAPF Committee please visit our website.