When we register a pesticide for use in Canada, we have to look at human health aspects, environmental aspects, and value, which has mostly been efficacy.
When we look at the human health aspects, people typically first think about eating the food that's been treated with the pesticides. We also have to look at occupational health issues and bystander issues. So there are times when we will say no to a pesticide or a use of the pesticide because of a concern about an occupational health issue, a bystander issue, or an environmental issue, but we do not have concerns about eating a product treated with the pesticide. That certainly has happened.
Under the World Trade Organization, our responsibility is to be as least trade restrictive as possible. So there are times when we allow a product treated with a pesticide to come into Canada when you can't use it in Canada, because we don't have concerns about dietary exposure, but we do have environmental or other health concerns. So we're okay on the health side; we have covered the dietary exposure.
There has also been a regulation that has said that irrespective of whether the pesticide is approved, if the residue limit level is below 0.1 parts per million, it's acceptable. The PMRA proposed changing that, because it was recognized that increasingly, pesticides were being used when we did have concerns, but the residue was below 0.1. And they were still being shipped to Canada and they were legally acceptable in Canada. That also put Canadian growers at a disadvantage, because farmers elsewhere could use products that Canadian growers couldn't use. So there was a proposal put forward, initially in 2003, to remove the 0.1, the default residue level.
We have had a second-round proposal go out recognizing that we want to do it in a way that does not disadvantage Canadian farmers. It addresses, then, one of the issues for fruit and vegetable growers about products being used offshore that are not allowed in Canada.
So it will be clear. The only times you should see that happening are when we don't have a concern about dietary exposure but we have said no to the product for other reasons.