IF THE CANADIAN seed regulatory system were an ocean, the Seed Synergy Collaboration Project can be thought of as a ship built to navigate that vast and sometimes perilous sea. Aboard that ship are members of all six associations that make up our industry — the Canadian Seed Institute (CSI), Canadian Plant Technology Agency (CPTA), CropLife Canada, Commercial Seed Analysts Association of Canada (CSAAC), Canadian Seed Trade Association (CSTA), and the Canadian Seed Growers’ Association (CSGA). Their mission? To chart a course for the future of our industry. The Seed Synergy Collaboration Project kicked into full gear after a series of annual meetings this past summer, at which the boards of all six associations gathered to discuss the project and how to move forward. Seed Synergy “represents an opportunity for us to rethink the seed system, and how we organize ourselves. The potential for part- nership is great, as there are many areas where the various Synergy organizations might assist one another. The primary risk in this area is not acting: without action, we might not adapt to changing circum- stances and find ourselves trying to update the seed system too far down the road.” That quote comes from the 2015/16 annual report of the CSGA. The Seed Synergy project will culminate in a series of recommenda- tions that will be provided to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) for the end of 2018, a tentative date set by the CFIA in March when it announced that it’s opening up Canada’s Seeds Regulations for review in order to “reduce overlap and redundancy, increase responsiveness to industry changes, address gaps, weaknesses and inconsistencies, and provide clarity and flexibility to affected regu- lated parties for seeds imported, conditioned, stored, tested, labelled, exported and sold in Canada.” We caught up with the executive directors of each association to discuss where they see their organization going in the future, and how Seed Synergy might assist them in charting a future course for Canadian seed. PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE | PART 2 4 GERMINATION.CA SEPTEMBER 2017 Our industry associations have committed to designing a next-generation seed regulatory system. We look at what the future holds for the ‘Big Six’ of Canadian seed. Series written by Marc Zienkiewicz CHARTINGACOURSE THERUNDOWNONSEED SYNERGY The Seed Synergy Collaboration Project as a concept originated among five of the current project partners at a meeting in April 2015. CropLife Canada joined the discussion in December of that year.  As part of the Seed Synergy project, there is agreement among the six associations on many of the key questions that need to be asked in relation to such a regulatory system redesign, including: •  What is the purpose of the seed regulatory system? •  What type of “next-generation” system is best suited to fulfill that purpose? •  What are the respective roles of industry and government in any future seed regulatory system? •  What institutional arrangements will be required to support such a system? This series of stories is a sequel to a feature that appeared in our July issue that detailed the past and present of our six associations. To read them visit germination.ca/category/past-present-future/.