Thank you very much.
Good day, Mr. Chair. My name is Dr. Mary Jane Ireland. I am Canada's chief veterinary officer and executive director of animal health at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. With me today is Mr. Philippe Morel, vice-president of operations.
We appreciate this opportunity to speak to the committee on biosecurity preparedness and the safeguards we have in place in case of threats to Canadian agriculture.
The CFIA is a science-based regulatory agency. Its broad mandate encompasses animal health, plant health, food safety and international market access.
Around the world, threats related to diseases, pests and the environment are constantly changing. The Government of Canada takes the issue of animal welfare and disease prevention very seriously. This responsibility is shared with the federal government, provincial and territorial governments, producers, transporters, industry organizations and others.
Canada has always relied on stringent import measures to safeguard our borders. Science-based import controls at international borders have successfully prevented the introduction of foreign animal diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease and African swine fever for many years.
In the event that a foreign animal disease presents itself in Canada, the CFIA has a robust animal health program in place to manage these events, to promote and regulate animal welfare, to support biosecurity standards and to facilitate trade and market access for Canadian animals and products.
As the chief veterinary officer for Canada, I co-chair the Council of Chief Veterinary Officers, which is a forum for federal, provincial and territorial CVOs to ensure a strong and safe animal health and agri-food system across Canada. By working together, we provide strategic direction for animal health and welfare using a “one health” and evidence-based approach to assessment, collaboration and consensus-building.
The CFIA works closely with veterinary colleges to support training of the next generation of veterinarians, and also has partnerships with universities and veterinary colleges to support research for animal health.
What is biosecurity? Biosecurity can be defined as measures, actions and attitudes needed to prevent the introduction and spread of disease. Biosecurity is a complex issue that continues to evolve.
To promote and facilitate the industry implementation of biosecurity measures on-farm, the CFIA has developed voluntary national biosecurity standards and guidance in collaboration with provinces, producer organizations, territorial governments and academia. These standards are in place for livestock and poultry industries, sheep and goat producers, and such other industries as apiaries, deer and elk, horses and mink farms. This standardization allows for producer organizations as well as provinces and territories to develop complementary biosecurity programs.
The CFIA also works with other government departments, such as Canada Border Services Agency and Environment and Climate Change Canada, to support biosecurity at our borders and to prevent diseases and pests from entering into Canada.
When a federally reportable animal disease is found in Canada, CFIA takes the lead in the response. As this committee is aware, the CFIA is actively addressing the highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreak that began spreading in Canada in 2021. The disease is significantly impacting poultry and other birds, not only in Canada but around the globe. As of April 24, there have been 319 premises with confirmed avian influenza in nine provinces, and about 7.6 million birds have been affected. Of those 319 premises, 54 continue to have active outbreaks in seven provinces.
When a disease like avian influenza is detected, surveillance and strong biosecurity measures along with rapid and effective action are important to limit the spread of disease and minimize the impact to producers in Canada.
The agency is also working to protect animal health by preventing the introduction of animal diseases. This includes preparing for African swine fever, ASF, which has been significantly impacting the pork industry globally but so far has not been detected in North America.
The government is working with provinces and industry to take every necessary precaution to prevent the introduction of ASF and to ensure that we are ready should an outbreak occur. The government is also currently working on planning, preparing and testing responses with industry and stakeholders, including provincial governments.
An investment of $23.4 million is supporting the pork industry's prevention and mitigation efforts, and another $19.8 million is being invested in prevention, emergency response planning, enhancing laboratory capacity, establishing zoning arrangements and contributing to international efforts to develop an ASF vaccine.
We are also putting measures in place to prevent foot-and-mouth disease, FMD, from entering Canada. The CFIA is also establishing a Canadian foot-and-mouth disease vaccine bank, as announced this year, with $57.5 million over five years and $5.6 million ongoing to both establish the vaccine bank and also update FMD response plans. This funding will secure sufficient doses of vaccine to protect Canada's livestock industry against large and uncontrolled outbreaks of FMD. This would help mitigate prolonged market disruptions in trade should an outbreak occur.
The CFIA has an emergency preparedness plan for FMD and other key diseases, including Avian influenza and Newcastle disease—