Advisory committee on regulatory reform to be named.   Ottawa—The federal government intends to launch a five-year, $67.8 million process to modernize its regulations in the agrifood and other sectors. The process, set out in the 2019 budget, comes in response to repeated criticisms of the regulatory burden facing Canadians. Last fall the agrifood strategy table called for “an agile regulatory system that promotes the competitiveness of the agrifood sector and moves at the speed of commerce.” The Chamber of Commerce issued a report last summer Called Death by 130,000 Cuts that detailed the morass of federal, provincial and municipal regulations Canadians have to navigate. Ottawa's next step will be for the formation of an External Advisory Committee on Regulatory Competitiveness to bring together business leaders, academics and consumer representatives to identify opportunities to streamline regulations and adopt novel regulatory approaches. Agrifood and aquaculture, health and bio-sciences and transportation and infrastructure are sectors earmarked for review of “regulatory requirements and practices that impede innovation and growth in the following high-growth sectors,” the budget said. The government will strengthen its capacity “to draft the legislative and regulatory changes needed to facilitate a new approach to regulations in these sectors and others.” It will also introduce regulatory roadmaps to address issues and irritants in these sectors based on the recommendations from the economic strategy tables and other forums. Details about the roadmaps will be released in the coming weeks, the budget said. They will “contain proposals for legislative and regulatory amendments as well as novel regulatory approaches to accommodate emerging technologies, including the use of regulatory sandboxes and pilot projects—better aligning our regulatory frameworks with industry realities.” The roadmaps will include regulatory sandboxes, which “are controlled safe spaces in which innovative products, services, business models and delivery mechanisms can be tested without immediately being subject to all of the regulatory requirements.” The roadmaps will also encourage the use of more digital services such as online portals and electronic templates along with clearer guidance for industry so that new products can be made available more quickly, the budget said. The roadmaps are also supposed to lead to “greater alignment and coordination within the federal government and across Canadian and international jurisdictions.” One such change will replace CFIA's paper-based system for issuing export certificates with a digital process, which should make overseas sales easier. The budget said the government “is working with provinces and territories to better harmonize regulations across provincial and territorial boundaries, opening up the door to more seamless internal trade. Canada also has an opportunity to harmonize regulations with its international trading partners, making Canada an even more attractive place to invest in and grow a business.” One review will look at the Canada Grain Act that has not been substantially updated in decades and is not aligned with current market realities, the budget said. The review will also look at the operations of the Canadian Grain Commission “to address a number of issues raised by the Canadian grain industry, including redundant inspections and issues within the current grain classification process that unnecessarily restrict Canadian grain exporters.” While the budget boasted the regulatory modernization of the CFIA through the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations that came into force in January, it didn't mention the nearly six years it took from the original announcement to completion. One well publicized trade barrier on the way out is the federal requirement that alcohol has to be consigned to a provincial liquor authority for sale in other provinces, the budget said. Provinces and territories would continue to be able to regulate the sale and distribution of alcohol within their boundaries. Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.