All Final Questions and answers are now reflecting the content of the 2020 version of Canadian Organic Standards
One year has passed since the publication of the 2020 version of the Canadian Organic Standards (COS) in December 2020.
So the 2015 version of the COS is no longer applicable.
The Final Questions and Answers published on the Organic Federation of Canada website are now exclusively based on the content of the 2020 version of the Canadian Organic Standards: CAN/CGSB-32.310 and CAN/CGSB-32.311.
Standards Interpretation Committee Update
The Standards Interpretation Committee (SIC) provides interpretive guidance from industry experts on questions and issues related to the National Standards for Organic Agriculture.
Each member serves a 3-year term – this year we bid farewell to two outgoing committee members, and welcome two new industry experts that have been nominated to the committee.
A warm welcome to Angela Rouillard and Allison Squires, the newly appointed SIC members!
Allison Squires owns and operates Upland Organics, a mixed livestock and organic grain farm located near Wood Mountain, Saskatchewan. Allison completed her PhD in Toxicology at the University of Saskatchewan. . She participated in several Working Groups in the last revision of the Canadian Organic Standards, and served as the SaskOrganics representative on the Technical Committee. She also serves as a member of the SaskOrganics Integrity Committee which was initiated to facilitate discussion between members of the organic community in Saskatchewan around their concerns and questions about the standards and integrity of the organic sector in Canada.
Angela Rouillard completed her BSc in Agriculture at the University of Alberta and her MSc and PhD in Animal Science at the University of Guelph. She has held a variety of positions in the agricultural sector, including management of a nonprofit livestock welfare organization, policy development in the red meat sector, and coordination of research and extension in the dairy sector. She has been an organic inspector/auditor and file evaluator/reviewer since 2015 and takes an active role in the organic industry.
We would also like to extend our gratitude to the two outgoing members of the SIC, Rochelle Eisen and Lorenz Eppinger
whose dedication to the organic sector and the SIC has been demonstrated over more than a decade of hard work.
After meeting consistently every second Monday at 1pm ET for more than 10 years: Rochelle Eisen deserves the gold medal of the organic standards’ interpretation. Always ready to discuss an interpretation, consider new arguments and reword an unclear sentence, she has been involved in drafting responses to 90% of the Final Questions & Answers that clarify how to apply the Canadian Organic Standards.
Rochelle’s commitment to the SIC also greatly helped the review of the Canadian Organic Standards; under her leadership as chair of the SIC, 37 petitions were submitted by the SIC to the review process.
Rochelle decided to withdraw from the SIC to make way to the new generation of ‘SICies’.
The OFC sincerely thanks Rochelle, wishes her the very best, and hopes that the organic community will continue to benefit from her organic skills and hard work.
2021 Organic Sector Survey Report
How confident are you about growing consumer demand and the future health and growth of the organic sector?
Somewhat confident / Quelque peu confiant: 41.64% (137)
Not so confident / Pas très confiant: 5.78% (19)
Not at all confident / Pas du tout confiant: 0.30%
If you have not had the chance to view the 2021 Organic Sector Survey Report,
it has been published on our website!
The report provides useful information and presents the opinions
of those in the organic community.
Read the final report here.
2022 Organic Summit
January 17 – 21
A 5-day online event, with over 15 expert speakers who will educate
on new innovations in organic regenerative agriculture!
Click here for additional information!
