Who we are

The Conseil des appellations réservées et des termes valorisants (CARTV) was set up by the Government of Québec on November 6, 2006, pursuant to the Act Respecting Reserved Designations and Added-Value Claims (L.R.Q., chapitre A-2-.03). The object of this Act is to protect the authenticity of products and of terms used to identify and promote them, through product certification based on origins or on special characteristics associated with a production method or specificity.

Effective January 1, 2008 the CARTV was granted jurisdiction over agriculture and food products bearing a reserved designation and sold on Québec territory, by Order 1124-2007 adopted on December 12, 2007 by the Government of Québec.

By virtue of the powers conferred upon it, CARTV is a control authority appointed by the Quebec's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food as to:

1. Accredit bodies that comply with the applicable accreditation manual as certification bodies;
2. Advise the Minister on the recognition of reserved designations;
3. Monitor the use of recognized reserved designations.

In order to both carry out its duties from its responsabilities and offer corresponding services, the CARTV conducts the following programs:

• Reference Manual Establishment ;
• Reserved Designation Recognition ;
• Certifying Bodies' Approval ;
• Quebec Product Entry Acceptance ;
• Supervision of the Use of Reserved Designations ;
• Public and Industry Information ;

Whereas the Act Respecting Reserved Designations and Added-Value Claims (L.R.Q., chapitre A-2-.03) has been partially implemented, the CARTV must fulfill its role in accordance with the provisions of the Act Respecting Reserved Designations (L.R.Q, ,chapitre A-20.02).

CARTV's mission

To develop and maintain the recognition, certification, inspection and information systems that allow groups of agri-food entreprises to use a designation for products distinguished by their origin or quality as well as to ensure the integrity of these products in order to gain the confidence of those who consume them.

Structure

The Board is a corporation that is deemed a public organization within the meaning of the Act. As a legal person, it is registered as a public authority with Québec’s Inspector General of Financial Institutions, registration number 8831858657. The corporation’s head office is located in Québec City. The organization’s main business office is in the city of Montréal.

The organization’s decision-making authority consists of a Board, assisted in its work by several committees such as the Standard Committee, the Certification Committee and the Supervision Committee. The operation of the CARTV’s body is governed by internal by-laws. All the members of the Board, of the technical committees and of the personnel are subjected to a code of ethics and deontology (in French only).

The Board is comprised of the following persons:

• François Pouliot, representative of producers of products that contain alcohol;
• Kasey Moctezuma, representative of certification bodies;
• Christine Jean, representative of processors;
• Christine Chabot, representative of distributors;
• Judith Lupien, representative of producers;
• Mario Martel, representative of retailers;
• Geneviève Reed, representative of consumers;
• Michel Voisard, representative of Quebec government;
• Denis Paul Bouffard, President and Chief Executive Officer.

The Standards Committee – Organic Designation Section, is comprised of the following persons:

• Jean Duval, chairman;
• Julie Bergeron;
• Andréanne Bilodeau;
• Loïc Dewavrin;
• Patrice Gagnon;
• Serge Lefebvre;
• Nicolas Turgeon, observer;

The Standards Committee - Territorial Designations Section, is comprised of the following persons:

• Paul Caccia, chairman;
• Sylvain Arbour;
• Elizabeth Barham;
• France Gravel;
• Alain Simard;
• Chirstian Vinet;
• Michel Voisard, observer;

The Certification Committee, which acts as Accreditation Committee, is comprised of the following persons:

• Danielle Brault, chairwoman;
• Robert Desmarais;
• Christine Dupuis;
• Julie Fréchette;
• Stéphane Gagnon;
• Christian Legault;
• Monique Scholz;
• Christiane Chabot, observer.

The Supervision Committee is comprised of the following persons:

• Pierre Gattuso LL.B., chairman;
• Marc Charbonneau;
• Daniel Dubé;
• Bruce Johnston LL.B.;
• Serge Nault;
• Geneviève Reed, observer.

The organization employs the following persons:

• Denis Paul Bouffard, President and Chief Executive Officer;
• Adriana Alfaro-Tremblay, Conformity Evaluation Officer;
• Yves Gélinas, Public and Industry Information Officer;
• Dominique Kouicem, Quality Assurance Officer;
• Baudouin Niogret, Project Agent - Reserved Designations;
• Annie St-Onge, Conformity Evaluation Officer (on maternity leave);
• Martine Thériault, Executive Assistant and Board Secretary.