Any Risk Group 2 or higher biohazardous material imported into Canada requires an import permit from the Public Health Agency of Canada and/or the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. This is for all products, whether they are ordered from commercial vendors or from another university.

For more information, please contact Stephanie Thomson.

Documentation

There are several documents required to obtain the biohazardous materials, which include human cell lines, toxins, and RG2 pathogens.

Import Permit:

PHAC requires that the Biosafety Officer, either Stephanie Thomson,  sign all permit applications. CFIA does not require a signature on the permit application, but requires another form called the Facility Certification form, which does require the signature of the Biosafety Officer. Please see the links below for copies of the forms and the instructions for affectively filling them out.

• PHAC
• CFIA

Exceptions:

When ordering ATCC human and some animal cell lines from Cedarlane they often send a waiver and CDR111 form. Cedarlane has obtained an import permit for ATCC cell lines and by filling out these forms they are able to add PIs to their approved permit.

• Permits are still required for all in vivo work.
• CL2 Checklists are still required.
• Signature of the Biosafety Officer is required for the CDR111 form (the witness is the Biosafety Officer)

Containment Level 2 (CL2) Checklist:

In conjunction with the Import Permit documentation, PHAC and CFIA also require a valid CL2 Checklist for your laboratory space. These checklists must be filled out by an RMS representative. We have incorporated these documents into our Consolidated Inspections. Once completed and signed by an RMS representative the document can be submitted to PHAC and/or CFIA. Once approval is obtained a copy of the Compliance letter is to be forwarded to RMS and is valid for 2 years.

The following links are for informational purposes only please do not fill out these checklists.

• PHAC
• CFIA