Incorporation by reference is a regulatory tool or approach that is being used more and more at the federal level, but also by other jurisdictions. It is a tool that can be used by regulators, including the CFIA, to expedite regulatory decisions. It is an authority that exists under the Safe Food for Canadians Act. As was mentioned, the proposal is to include a similar authority across the other statutes that are addressed in the context of this bill.
There are benefits associated with the use of the tool, mainly, as I mentioned, around expediting regulatory decisions, which should be advantageous not only for the CFIA from a science-base perspective, but for industry as well. Certainly, we do have regulations on fertilizers as well as animal feed that have comprehensive and fairly lengthy lists of products and supplements and the like that are covered by the regulation. Currently to update those lists of products is a very time-consuming and slow process. This would provide an opportunity for us to move more swiftly, but in a judicious way, to ensure that product lists and other elements are up to date and remain in tune with evolving science as well as business practice.