b'ENSURING BUSINESS CONTINUITY IS TOP PRIORITY / CSI-ICS.COM / CSIPLANNING FOR A SMOOTH TRANSITION AS WE EVOLVE INTO SEEDS CANADAAS OF FEB. 1, 2021, the Canadian Seed Institute willnal services offered by each of the four founding become part of Seeds Canada. organizations. This will ensure continuity and Late in 2020, CSI members voted to amal- uninterrupted flow of service offerings. gamate with three other associationstheSeeds Canada distinguishes between three Canadian Seed Trade Association, Canadiantypes of servicesmember-based, client-based Plant Technology Agency and Commercial Seedand corporate services.Analysts Association of Canadaand as of February, CSI will no longer exist in name.What will still exist are the services we Roy van Wyk, provide. Ensuring the continuity of our business Executive Director,is priority No. 1 as we make the transition. We Canadian Seedhave worked diligently on a plan to make theWE HAVE WORKED DILIGENTLY ON A PLAN Institute transition as seamless as possible for our clients. With all the details to manage leading to anTO MAKE THE TRANSITION AS SEAMLESS amalgamation, we need to be mindful of theAS POSSIBLE FOR OUR CLIENTS.changes that will impact our clients businesses.There are many CSI clients that use the CSI brand in their marketing materials and labels, for example. Many will have a significant amount of money invested in their labels, so we will need a transition plan that will provide our clients withClient-based services are those associated, adequate time to take care of the logistics associ- for example, with CSIs oversight of RSE and lab ated with this change.accreditation programs and non-seed services It will also take time to update the literallysuch as organic certification, sustainability verifi-hundreds of forms we use to administer all ourcation audits. These services will be provided on different programs. These are controlled docu- a cost recovery basis, paid for by the user (not ments, managed under our ISO quality manage- subsidized by membership fees).ment system, that all have to be changed andCSIs audit, inspection, and certification updated with new branding.services will now take place under the Seeds But while our logo and name may change,Canada banner, combined with the client ser-our focus on exceptional service delivery willvices delivered by our amalgamating partners. not. In fact, I see our services being enhanced asSeeds Canada clients can stay tuned for more we evolve into a bigger, better organization. information as we move ahead. Seeds Canada will continue to offer all origi- I look forward to the coming months. JANUARY 2021 GERMINATION.CA 41'