2. Enabling Plant Breeding Innovation Proposed is improved guidance and clarity for Canadian innovators on the interpretation of Canada’s novelty- based regulatory trigger, allowing innovators to deter- mine if a product would trigger regulation in Canada and a process for government confirmation. Also proposed is the idea of an industry-wide coali- tion that, in effect, would remove any unnecessary com- plexities resulting from the existence of three separate review offices — CFIA, AAFC and Health Canada — which assess the food, feed and environmental safety of crops in Canada. Assessments conducted by the three offices would be streamlined to the full extent possible without com- promising safety. Unintended barriers to domestic and international market entry for plant breeding innovations would be reduced. Differences in the scope of Canada’s and other countries’ approach to plant breeding innova- tion would be minimized, facilitating two-way trade. This change would: •  Drive investment in Canadian-based innovation at all levels •  Place Canada as an international leader in rational science-based regulation •  Ensure that Canadian farmers have timely access to the same innovations as their competitors •  Allow small and medium enterprises to play in the R&D space 4. Next-Generation Traceability — Seed Certification Framework Currently, seed certification is a public-private partnership, with CFIA responsible for seed legislation, regulations, variety registration, seed crop inspection, grade standards and final certification; CSGA for breeder accreditation, varietal purity standards, and seed crop certification; and CSI for oversight of registered seed establishments and accredited seed testing laboratories. Seed Synergy proposes that industry be delegated responsibility for all standard-setting and management of a streamlined and modernized seed certification delivery system, similar to other jurisdictions. Government would support and oversee the system, conduct marketplace monitoring and regulatory enforcement, and facilitate international trade, much as it does now. Information management (IM) systems and processes for pre-market approvals and assessments (e.g. variety registration, PBR , certification eligibility) would be inte- grated and the seed certification system fully digitized and automated, adding value by reducing administra- tive burden, increasing system responsiveness, bundling services (e.g. seed testing, royalty collection, performance information) enhancing traceability and removing costs. Source: Seed Synergy information session documents presented in Montreal, Quebec in July SEPTEMBER 2018 GERMINATION.CA 15 THECSTAINTELLECTUALPROPERTYCOMMITTEE VOTEDATITSANNUALMEETINGINMONTREALIN JULYTOSUPPORTTHETRAILINGROYALTYOPTION FORVALUECREATION/CAPTURE.SEEPAGE18FOR KEYINSIGHTS. 3. Stimulating Innovation & Value Creation Following an extensive process through workshops, working groups and a task force of the AAFC Grains Roundtable two proposed models for value creation in cereals were tabled last fall: •  Producer-Facilitated Royalty Collection, also know as an End-Point Royalty; •  Royalty Collection Enabled via Contract, known as a Trailing Royalty. THISNEWTRACEABILITYNETWORKWOULDBE ENABLEDBYASINGLEWINDOWTHATWOULD COLLECTANDMANAGEDATAONVARIETIESAND SEEDLOTSFROMBREEDERSEEDTOCERTIFIED SEEDSALESFORREGULATORYPURPOSES.SEE PAGE16FORDETAILS!