The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) sets requirements that govern the import, handling and release in Canada of biological control organisms. These requirements are based on authorities in the Plant Protection Act and are provided in the CFIA’s program directive D-12-02: Import Requirements for Potentially Injurious Organisms (Other than Plants) to Prevent the Importation of Plant Pests in Canada.
Biological control agents are insects, mites, nematodes and other organisms used to control plant pests such as weeds or insects. Despite their potential benefits for managing pests, they present a risk to the environment because they themselves can become pests or carriers of pests.
To prevent direct or indirect harm to plant health, the import and release of biological control agents in Canada is regulated. The regulatory approach includes conducting scientific reviews of requests to release biological control agents and establishing requirements for post-release monitoring.
A plant protection import permit is required to import these approved agents. A permit may be requested using the Application for Permit to Import Plants and Other Things under the Plant Protection Act.
Note: When requesting to import predatory mites, importers must specify on their application the prey mites that are used as a food source for this biological control agent.
Before a biological control agent can be released into the Canadian environment for the first time, a petition requesting its release must be submitted to the CFIA. The petition must include information about the safety of the organism.
Petitions are reviewed by a Biological Control Review Committee, which is coordinated by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. The committee includes taxonomists, ecologists and other scientists from the federal and provincial governments and Canadian universities. After the petition is reviewed by the committee, the committee makes a recommendation that is considered by the CFIA in its final assessment. The CFIA then communicates its decision to the petitioner.
Additional information and guidance on the petition process are available in:
- Approval process for the first environmental release of biological control agents
- Guide for the first-time importation and release of arthropod biological control agents in Canada
- Guidelines for the export, shipment, import and release of biological control agents and other beneficial organisms
- Questions and answers: wasps as biological control agents for emerald ash borers
For further information or clarification, please contact the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).