Thank you, honourable member, for the question.
I can give an example in the area of food additives with regard to the amount of time that actually can be taken after the scientific assessment has been completed and essentially the substance to be added to foods is deemed to be safe. The example I'm going to use is for an antimicrobial substance, which is a substance that is aimed to either inhibit or delay the growth of harmful bacteria in food.
After our scientists have assessed this substance, deemed it to be acceptable, and identified the conditions for its safe use, it can take up to 36 months of regulatory work and changes—meaning amendments essentially, the drafting of the regulations and so on—before that substance essentially could be given access to the Canadian market.
Those changes are essentially aimed to reduce that period. The scientific assessment is still the same, with the same rigour and the same scrutiny. Once the recommendation of the substance that is deemed to be safe is granted essentially a safe bill, if you will, after that it could reduce that period to as little as six months to enable the access to market.