The Government of Canada yesterday announced it is proposing to amend the Agriculture and Agri-Food Administrative Monetary Penalities Regulations (AMPs Regulations) to expand Administrative Monetary Penalities (AMPs) to the Meat Inspection Act and the Meat Inspection Regulations of 1990. The proposed changes will enable the issuance of monetary penalties for violation of these laws.

The Government's Notice to Industry said, "AMPs are an important element of a modern enforcement and inspection system. They provide an additional tool to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) inspectors' existing toolkit for addressing non-compliance, without having to suspend or cancel a licence or seek prosecution.

"The expansion of the AMPs Regulations supports other activities being undertaken by the CFIA, as set out in the Healthy and Safe Food for Canadians Framework. This framework outlines how the Government is working to prevent food safety risks, and protect Canadians when unsafe products enter the marketplace."

The proposed amendments to the AMPs Regulations were published Feb. 22 in the Canada Gazette, Part 1. The comment period will be open until March 22.