Federal government delays plan to shut down Quebec food allergy lab: union

OTTAWA – A union representing Canadian Food Inspection Agency employees says the federal government is delaying a plan to shutter a food allergy testing lab in Quebec by two years.

The Agriculture Union said the Longueuil laboratory in Quebec was set to cease operations at the end of April. It said the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said it now intends to shut the lab by 2028.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said in a statement that it continues to plan for the closure of its Longueuil laboratory in 2028 as part of a “government-wide effort to ensure efficient and cost-effective operations.”

“What has changed is the timeline for employees,” the statement read. “We have adjusted their status to allow more time to support a responsible transition—for both staff and the work they perform.”

The statement said critical functions currently performed at the Longueuil laboratory, including allergen testing and food safety analysis, will continue within CFIA’s broader laboratory network. 

“Employees will remain in their current roles while transition planning is finalized,” said the statement. “Science remains the foundation of CFIA’s mandate. Our laboratory network will continue to provide the expertise needed to protect the safety of Canada’s food, animals and plants.”

Milton Dyck, national president of the Agriculture Union, said the decision is a “significant victory” for all Canadians who care about safe and healthy food, and especially anyone with a food allergy.

“The Longueuil lab is the CFIA’s only lab capable of using advanced technology to verify nutrition labels and detect allergens,” he said in a news release. “They also do testing on shellfish for marine toxins.

“Over three million people in Canada suffer from food allergies. If the government shuts this lab, they remove an essential protection for them all. This was a reckless move.”

The union said the plan to shut down the lab is going forward on the sidelines of a “looming food safety crisis” in North America.

It said accelerating climate change is multiplying food safety risks and U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration has “gutted” the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, throwing the quality of American food imports into doubt.

“The Longueuil lab isn’t just a budget line,” said Dyck. “It is a promise to keep families safe. And our members are proud to do that work.”

The union said all 17 of the employees of the CFIA Longueuil lab received letters at the end of January stating that their positions had become “surplus,” meaning they were no longer needed.

It said the cuts are part of the Liberal government’s comprehensive expenditure review. The 2025 federal budget outlined a plan to slash the public service by 10 per cent by the end of the 2028-29 fiscal year.

Aaron Lakoff, a spokesperson for the Agriculture Union, said the employees have since had those letters rescinded.

“So it doesn’t mean that their jobs have necessarily been extended until 2028,” he said. “What it means is that the government is examining their positions to see if they will no longer be needed in the future.

“It is good news for our members there, because under their surplus status, they would have been unemployed after May 27, 2026. Now we have some room to breathe, and the lab will continue operating for now.”

Dyck said the union is calling on the government to commit to keeping the lab open for the long term and to roll back the cuts to the CFIA.

“Our message to Carney is that he needs to stop gambling with people’s lives and put food safety first,” he said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2026.