Protecting Seed Sovereignty: What Canada’s Proposed Seed Law Changes Mean for Us

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Protecting Seed Sovereignty: What Canada’s Proposed Seed Law Changes Mean for Us

By Manish at Gaia | September 4, 2025 | No Comments | Policy Articles, Seed Policy Blog Post

The federal government is proposing major changes to the Plant Breeders’ Rights (PBR) Regulations.
See Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 159, Number 32: Regulations Amending the Plant Breeders’ Rights Regulations for more details. On paper, the goal is to “align with international partners” and “support innovation.” But for farmers and small seed companies, these amendments could directly affect our livelihoods, autonomy, and ability to save and share seed.

Below, I’ll summarize both:

My viewpoint as a farmer and small seed company.
The Gazette’s proposal by section, explained in plain terms with examples of how this could impact you.

My Viewpoint

Livelihoods at risk: I run a small seed company, like hundreds of others across Canada. These changes would directly impact how we operate and limit what we can offer farmers and gardeners.
Seed saving is not theft: When farmers save and adapt seed — even from hybrids — they are not “free riding.” They are innovating and creating diversity.
Hybrids already protect breeders: Hybrid seeds don’t reproduce true-to-type, which ensures breeders get repeat sales. Adding legal restrictions on top of this is unnecessary and exploitative.
UPOV is flexible: Canada is a member of UPOV but still has sovereignty to design laws that reflect our priorities. We don’t need to copy the strictest European model.
Balance is missing: These amendments focus on corporate breeders, not on farmers, Indigenous communities, or small seed companies that actually keep diversity alive.

What the Gazette Proposes – Section by Section

Executive Summary

Government’s framing: Strengthen innovation, align with EU/US, attract investment.
Reality for farmers: Innovation is being defined only as corporate breeding. Farmer-led innovation — saving and adapting seeds — is ignored.
Example: You save tomato seed adapted to your local soil. Under this regime, only the breeder’s rights are valued, not your contribution.

Issues

Government’s framing: Farmers’ privilege is too broad and weakens the PBR system.
Reality for farmers: Farmers’ privilege is a safeguard that keeps us from being fully dependent on purchased seed.
Example: In a supply chain disruption (like during COVID), saving seed from last year’s crop could keep your farm going. Removing that right means you’re stuck waiting and paying for imports.

Background

Government’s framing: Canada is an “outlier” compared to UPOV members; must align more closely.
Reality for farmers: UPOV sets minimum standards. Canada is free to protect farmer rights. Being an “outlier” is not a flaw — it reflects our traditions and resilience.
Example: Other countries implement UPOV differently. Canada can too — and should, to reflect our unique agricultural landscape.

Description

Government’s framing: Narrow farmers’ privilege to cereals/pulses, extend protection terms for some crops, modernize admin rules.
Reality for farmers:
This proposal would strip away the right to save seed for vegetables, herbs, and ornamentals — the very crops that most small seed companies and market gardeners rely on. For generations, farmers and growers have selected tomato, pepper, bean, and herb seeds for their own soils and climates. Under these rules, that tradition would be turned into infringement.
Hybrids already guarantee sales to breeders because they don’t reproduce true-to-type; banning seed saving on them is corporate overreach. Extending PBR terms delays when crops like potatoes enter the public domain, where farmers and small companies can adapt them for organic, northern, or low-input systems.
Example: A new potato variety would stay locked up for 25 years instead of 20. That’s five more years before local breeders and farmers could legally improve it. Meanwhile, crops like vegetables, herbs, and ornamentals — essential for food, medicine, and culture — would lose protection of farmers’ privilege altogether.

Regulatory Development / Consultation

Government’s framing: “Most stakeholders” supported changes; only 10% opposed.
Reality for farmers: The consultation leaned heavily toward industry groups. Small-scale farmers and seed companies were underrepresented. Minority voices raising rights issues cannot be ignored.
Example: If 90% of respondents are from corporate breeders, of course they support narrowing farmers’ privilege. But the people most affected — like us — weren’t properly included.

Regulatory Analysis (Benefits and Costs)

Government’s framing: Breeders benefit from more revenue; CFIA saves money; farmers barely impacted.
Reality for farmers: Costs to farmers, seed sovereignty, and public breeders are not counted.
Example: You’ll pay more each year for licensed varieties. That’s a real cost — but the analysis treats it as if it doesn’t exist.

Implementation, Compliance, and Enforcement

Government’s framing: PBRO will provide info; enforcement is private (breeders take farmers to court).
Reality for farmers: Compliance relies on lawsuits. Large corporations can afford lawyers; small farmers cannot. There are no safeguards against intimidation or overreach.
Example: If a “self” from a hybrid shows up in your field and you save it, you could be dragged into court by a multinational seed company.

What You Can Do

The deadline to submit comments is October 18, 2025.
Go to the Canada Gazette, Part I website, search for Plant Breeders’ Rights Regulations Amendments, and submit your comment.
Share your story: how you use seed saving, how this impacts your business or farm, why farmer-led seed innovation matters.

Your voice matters. If only corporate breeders respond, Ottawa will assume farmers and small companies agree. Let’s make sure they hear from us.

Comment Template: Small Seed Companies on Proposed Seed Law Amendments (Ontario)

(Use this as a starting point—customize with your own details!)

Subject: Comment on Proposed Seed Law Amendments — Farmers’ Privilege & PBR Changes

To: pbr.pov@inspection.gc.ca (Plant Breeders’ Rights Office, CFIA)
Also via the Canada Gazette portal: Comment on proposed regulations
Deadline: October 18, 2025

Your Comment

Dear Plant Breeders’ Rights Office,

I write as the founder of [Your Seed Company Name], a small seed enterprise based in [Province], serving farmers, gardeners, and nurseries with locally adapted, diverse seed varieties.

Our Concern:
The proposed amendments to Canada’s Seed Law—specifically narrowing the farmers’ privilege, extending PBR protection to 25 years for certain crops, and modifying application rules—will directly affect our livelihood and the resilience of regional seed systems across Canada.

1. Farmers’ Privilege = Seed Security & Innovation

Saving and adapting seed—whether from open-pollinated or hybrid varieties—is how small companies like mine maintain diversity and develop regionally adapted varieties. Restricting this basic right threatens our ability to serve local markets and preserve biodiversity.

2. Hybrids Already Give Breeders a Built-in Market

Hybrid seeds do not breed true, ensuring repeat sales for breeders. Placing legal restrictions on saving hybrid seed is unnecessary and treats farmers as second-class innovators.

3. Longer PBR Terms Delay Public Access

Extending protection from 20 to 25 years for crops like potatoes and asparagus locks these varieties out of the public domain longer. That delay means small companies cannot legally adapt or share them when farmers need them most.

4. Sovereignty over Seed Laws Matters

Canada is a UPOV member, but UPOV sets minimum standards—not legislative rigidity. We should leverage our sovereign right to design laws that support small businesses, Indigenous stewardship, and food sovereignty—not just industrial breeding.

5. Help Us, Don’t Overwhelm Us

Information and enforcement strategies focus mostly on breeders. We worry about being hemmed in by legal complexity. There must be tools, resources, and clear pathways that support small companies, not just big players.

What I Ask

Protect farmers’ privilege for all seed-saving and adaptive practices.
Prioritize public breeding investment over extended monopolies.
Include small-scale and Indigenous seed stewards in consultations and decisions.
Ensure any enforcement includes safeguards for farmers and small businesses.

Thank you for considering this comment. I urge CFIA to expand consultation to include more voices from small seed companies and farmers, whose livelihoods are directly shaped by these regulations. Protecting our role in the seed system is not only about business survival — it is essential for Canada’s long-term food security, biodiversity, and resilience.

Sincerely,
[Your Name]
[Your Seed Company Name] – [Province] OR {SKIP}
Email: [your.email@example.com]
Website: [yourwebsite.com] (optional) OR {SKIP}

Quick Reference — Where to Submit:

Online: Through the Canada Gazette comments portal, under the consultation for “Seed Law Amendments” (formerly Plant Breeders’ Rights Regulations).
By email (Ontario): Send to pbr.pov@inspection.gc.ca
- You can copy the above comment format and submit from your business email.
Need help? Reach out to the Plant Breeders’ Rights Office (CFIA) for assistance.