Glossary of Terms

The PPR Initiative is funded under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.

Agricultural Activities: Activities involving the raising of livestock and the production of crops, including harvesting, sorting, grading, and minimal processing steps such as washing, packing, trimming, and/or grading.
Agri-based Activities: All activities involved along a chain related to the production, processing, storing, shipping, distributing and retailing of agriculturally produced products that are not intended for human consumption (e.g. corn grown, processed, and sold for ethanol production).
Agri-food Activities: All activities involved along a chain related to the production, processing, storing, shipping, distributing and retailing of food (e.g. corn grown, processed, packaged and sold to consumers).
Agri-food: Relating to the integrated complex chain that includes primary agriculture and inputs, food and beverage processing, distribution, transportation, wholesale and retail of food, food services, and consumers.
Assessment Roll Number: A 15-, 19- or 20-digit number assigned by the Municipal Property Assessment Corporation to an assessable property for identification purposes. The Roll Number can be found on your Property Assessment Notice.
Characterization: The process of providing and capturing information, which is provided by Data Providers and captured by the Provincial Premises Registry Initiative, as part of the Registration process to identify all Agri-food Activities occurring on the Premises.
Data Providers: Agri-food industry participants who provide Premises Information to the Provincial Premises Registry Initiative for the purposes of obtaining a Premises Identification Number.
Emergency Management: Organized and comprehensive programs and activities taken to deal with actual or potential emergencies or disasters. Emergency Management has four components:
Geographic Information System (GIS): A system that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents spatial data.
Geographic (or Geo-referenced) Coordinates: Latitude and longitude points on a map to determine a unique position, location or point on the Earth's surface.
Global Positioning System (GPS): The system that is used to capture and transmit location information (e.g., geographic coordinates) of a single point on the Earth's surface using satellite navigation systems.
Incident: A real or potential occurrence or event, natural or human-caused, which to limit damage to persons, property, adverse economic impact, or the environment, requires prompt actions by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness to investigate, identify, assess, control, or otherwise mitigate.
Incident Management: The processes and activities associated with prevention of, preparing for, responding to and remediation of an Incident as determined by the Ministry.
Legal Land Description: Property information and details written on the deed to a property that defines the parcel of land by referencing a survey plan or land use plan. This may include the parcel number (and section, if any), property identifier (if any), and a reference to the local municipality, lot, part lot, concession or other unit on the plan.
Municipal Property Assessment Corporation (MPAC): The Crown corporation of the Government of Ontario that determines and classifies the assessed value for all properties across the province of Ontario under the Assessment Act. Properties are assigned an Assessment Roll Number for identification of that property's area and boundaries as it relates to its assessed value.
Parcel: An area of land as defined for ownership or property taxation calculation (assessment) purposes that is required for land registration.
Provincial Premises Registry (PPR) Initiative: The Provincial Premises Registry (PPR) Initiative, under the Protection and Risk Resilience: One Health, Food Safety and Animal Health Designated Program set out in Part V.15 under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership Strategic Initiatives Program (Minister’s Order 0005/2023).
Premises: A parcel of land defined by a legal land description or, in its absence, by geographic coordinates, on which, or any part of which, animals, plants, Agri-food based products, inputs or food are grown, kept, assembled or disposed of.
Premises Identification/Premises ID: The establishment of the exact geographical location of a Premises, its characterization (e.g., description of activities and relevant contact information) and the allocation of a unique identifier to national/international standards.
Premises Identification Number: The unique and single identifier that is assigned to a Premises according to national standards. The Premises Identification Number is assigned only after the Premises has been registered, characterized and validated.
Premises Information: The Premises records contained in the PPR Initiative. Records contain, at a minimum, the information required by the province and consist of data fields as described in the national standards that are used to register and characterize a Premises, as required, for Incident Management. Premises records include:
Registration: The process of entering Premises Information into the PPR Initiative by Data Providers in order to receive a Premises Identification Number.
Sub-Premises: A physical feature of a land parcel where animals or products are kept, assembled, or disposed of (e.g., field, farm building, or parts thereof).
Validation (or Verification): The process of verifying the Legal Land Description of registered and characterized Premises in the PPR Initiative as corresponding to a single land parcel for the purposes of assigning a unique Premises Identification Number. Validation ensures only one unique Premises Identification Number is assigned to a Premises.