Agricultural Biotechnology Seminar Series 2025 | Seminar 1: Plant Breeding Innovation in Canada – Regulatory Approach and Opportunities
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May 27, 2025
8:00 am - 10:00 amVirtual (EDT/UTC-4)
Ottawa, Canada
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The first seminar in the 2025 Agricultural Biotechnology Seminar Series, this virtual seminar provided an overview of Canada’s new guidance on the regulation of plant breeding innovations for food, seeds and their environmental release, and animal feed, with a focus on the principles behind the member economy’s approach. This included an overview of the final set of guidance that was developed over the course of this initiative, as well as insights into the development of regulatory guidance, recommended best practices, reflections on navigating challenges encountered, and opportunities for complementary initiatives, so economies embarking on or contemplating similar endeavors may learn from Canada’s experience. Perspectives from both regulators and plant breeders were shared, with a focus on opportunities to strengthen innovation, trade, and food security through practical solutions to policy alignment for precision breeding. The sponsoring economy for this session was Canada
Agricultural Biotechnology Seminar Series
By bringing together policymakers, risk assessors, and scientists, the series seeks to foster greater participation and enhance engagement in the APEC High Level Policy Dialogue on Agricultural Biotechnology (HLPDAB) outside of the annual meeting.
This seminar’s objectives were:
- Provide a forum for asking questions about Canada’s guidance and experience.
- Share insights on the importance of policy alignment for enabling trade and product development.
- Discuss practical solutions to policy alignment for precision breeding and opportunities to strengthen innovation, trade, and food security within APEC.
Agenda
8:00 am
Technical Introduction
Bhavneet Bajaj, Ph.D.
Senior Manager – Scientific Programs, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute (AFSI), USA
8:05 am
Opening Remarks
Michelle Bielik
Director, Technical Trade Policy Division, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
8:10 am
Principles of Canada’s Approach & Overview of Canada’s New Guidance on Regulation of Plant Breeding Innovations: Food
Neil Strand
Section Head, Novel Foods Section, Health Canada
8:25 am
Canada’s New Guidance on Regulation of Plant Breeding Innovations: Seeds/Environmental Release
Hannah Clouthier
Acting Policy and Program Team Lead, Plant Biosafety Office (PBO), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
8:40 am
Canada’s New Guidance on Regulation of Plant Breeding Innovations: Feed
Abed Zeibdawi, Ph.D.
Policy and Program Leader, Animal Feed and Veterinary Biologics Division, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
8:55 am
Moderated Question and Answer Session
Bhavneet Bajaj, Ph.D.
9:10 am
Perspectives from a Plant Breeder
Jodi Souter, Ph.D.
Independent Plant Breeder/Co-Founder, J4 Agri-Science
9:25 am
Strengthening Innovation, Trade, and Food Security: Why We Need Creative Solutions to Policy Alignment for Precision Breeding
Krista Thomas
Vice President of Trade Policy & Seed Innovation, Canada Grains Council (CGC)
9:40 am
Moderated Question and Answer Session
Bhavneet Bajaj, Ph.D.
9:50 am
Closing Remarks
Michelle Bielik
9:55 am
Conclusion
Bhavneet Bajaj, Ph.D.
Speaker Bios
Michelle Bielik
Director, Technical Trade Policy Division, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)
Michelle Bielik is Director of the Technical Trade Policy Division, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), whose team responsibilities include multilateral engagement, cooperation, and policy alignment on matters associated with trade in agriculture and agri-food products.
Neil Strand
Section Head, Novel Foods Section, Health Canada
Mr. Neil Strand has over 18 years of experience in the regulation and safety assessment of novel foods, including genetically modified foods, in Canada. Mr. Strand joined Health Canada’s Food and Nutrition Directorate in 2005 as a scientific evaluator in the Novel Foods Section and has held positions as the assessment team lead for the food-natural health product transition and as an advisor to the Assistant Deputy Minister of the Health Products and Food Branch at Health Canada. Currently, Mr. Strand is the Section Head of the Novel Foods Section, leading a team of scientific evaluators responsible for the assessment of novel foods, as well as the development of policy, guidance, and communications materials.
Hannah Clouthier
Acting Policy and Program Team Lead, Plant Biosafety Office (PBO), Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
Hannah Clouthier is currently the acting Manager of the Plant Biosafety Office within the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), the group responsible for administering programs and developing policies relating to the environmental release of plants with novel traits in Canada.
Abed Zeibdawi, Ph.D.
Policy and Program Leader, Animal Feed and Veterinary Biologics Division, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)
Dr. Abed Zeibdawi is the Policy and Program Leader of the Animal Feed and Veterinary Biologics Division at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA).
Jodi Souter, Ph.D.
Independent Plant Breeder/Co-Founder, J4 Agri-Science
Dr. Jodi Souter is a plant breeder from Saskatchewan, Canada. Jodi’s upbringing and continued involvement on her family farm have shaped her mission of advocating for innovation in and evolution of the crop development sector in Canada. Jodi earned a Ph.D. from the University of Saskatchewan and undertook a Nuffield Scholarship looking at how Canada can learn from the various international approaches to plant breeding. Further, Jodi co-founded J4 Agri-Science, a pulses and specialty crop breeding company. At the seminar, Jodi will discuss the advantages of unlocking modern breeding techniques for global agriculture.
Krista Thomas
Vice President of Trade Policy & Seed Innovation, Canada Grains Council (CGC)
Krista Thomas is the Vice President of Trade Policy and Seed Innovation at the Canada Grains Council (CGC). In this role, she advocates for science-based, trade-enabling regulations and farmer access to plant breeding innovation. Krista is an active participant in the International Grain Trade Coalition and has presented often multilateral venues. Before her tenure at the CGC, she held various roles within the Canadian Federal Government, including positions at the Canada-US Regulatory Cooperation Council and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Krista earned an M.Sc. in Plant Agriculture from the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada.
Bhavneet Bajaj, Ph.D.
Senior Manager, Agriculture & Food Systems Institute (AFSI)
Dr. Bhavneet Bajaj joined the Agriculture & Food Systems Institute (AFSI) in July 2018 as Scientific Program Manager. She has been involved in projects related to safety assessment of foods and feeds derived from genetically engineered plants and serves as a resource person in providing technical support for capacity building programs in biotechnology. She was also the program lead for USDA-funded technical training for Chinese and Indonesian regulators and manages operations for both the Crop Composition Database and the World Nutrient Databases for Dietary Studies.
Prior to joining AFSI, Dr. Bajaj was a Visiting Scientist at the Sustainable Agricultural Systems Laboratory, Agricultural Research Service, USDA, where she worked on carotenoid pathway regulation in tomatoes. Before then, she was Associate Investigator with the Plant Protection group at (then) DuPont, where she devised a metabolic engineering strategy for insect control in soybean. While in India, she was an Assistant Professor at Jaipur National University, where she taught genetic engineering, enzymology, and biochemistry courses to M.Sc. level students. Her research work over the past 12 years involved plant secondary metabolites of nutritional, agricultural, and medicinal importance.
