Question Period Note: Perfluoroalkylated and Polyfluoroalkylated Substances (PFAS)

• The Government of Canada has published a draft State of PFAS report. This draft report proposes that PFAS as a class may cause harm to both human health and the environment. There is a considerable amount of public interest in this very large group of substances.

• Health Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada are addressing PFAS as a class because people living in Canada are exposed to many of these chemicals every day and emerging science shows they are harmful to human health and the environment.
• Publication of the draft state of PFAS report was an important step in the process of managing these substances. The Government is working towards publishing the next PFAS documents as soon as possible and, if the conclusions are confirmed, will take action to manage identified risks.
IF PRESSED ON GOVERNMENT ACTIONS TO ADDRESS PFAS
• While science has been evolving regarding the risks of PFAS, the Government of Canada has not waited to act and has prohibited three subgroups of PFAS.
• The Government of Canada has also proposed a new more stringent objective for PFAS in drinking water, led a nomination of a subset of these substances for global action under the Stockholm Convention and is developing an approach to consider the risk posed by biosolids contaminated with PFAS and to protect the safety of Canadian agriculture.
IF PRESSED ON GOVERNMENT ACTIONS TO PROTECT PEOPLE IN SAGENUAY FROM PFAS
• The Government of Canada has proposed a new draft objective for PFAS in drinking water with the aim to reduce potential exposure to multiple PFAS considering them as a group instead of individual chemicals.
• The Government of Canada is supporting the province of Quebec through guidance on health effects, testing protocols and water treatment strategies for contaminants in drinking water.
• Questions about specific contaminated sites should be addressed to the responsible federal authority.
IF PRESSED ON GOVERNMENT ACTIONS TO PROTECT PEOPLE FROM PFAS IN CONSUMER & SELF-CARE PRODUCTS, INCLUDING COSMETICS
• Publication of the draft state of PFAS report is an important step in the process of managing these harmful substances.
• The Government is considering what actions are needed to protect people in Canada and their environment from PFAS, including PFAS used in certain products.
• The Government of Canada has a number of tools available under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, and the Food and Drugs Act to take action on products, including cosmetics, that demonstrate a risk to the health and safety of people in Canada.

In April 2021, the Government of Canada published a Notice of Intent to move forward with activities to address the broad class of PFAS. The notice indicated that substance-specific information is lacking for many PFAS that are currently used and, while risk management measures are already in place for a number of PFAS, the scientific evidence to date indicates that other PFAS may also have associated environmental and/or human health effects. Considering PFAS as a class of chemicals better addresses situations where exposure occurs to multiple PFAS, and allows the Government to consider cumulative effects and to prevent substituting a regulated PFAS with an unregulated PFAS that possess equally or more hazardous properties (i.e., regrettable substitution). Stakeholders were invited to provide initial feedback or indicate their interest in engaging in further discussions.

Other Government of Canada Actions on PFAS

Existing Regulations
The Government of Canada has taken action under CEPA to prohibit the manufacture, use, sale and import of certain subclasses of PFAS (perfluorooctonate sulfonate [PFOS], perfluorooctanoic acid [PFOA] and long-chain perfluorocarboxylic acids [LC-PFCAs]) and products containing these substances, subject to certain limited exceptions and permitted activities.

CEPA’s New Substances Notification Regulations ensure that no new substances, including new PFAS, are introduced into the Canadian marketplace before undergoing ecological and human health assessments, and that appropriate control measures have been taken, when required. Canada’s New Substances Program has taken preventative action against potentially harmful new PFAS and will continue to ensure that new PFAS that are imported or manufactured in Canada are assessed and risk managed, as required.

Existing Guidelines
Federal Environmental Quality Guidelines for PFOS have been developed for surface water, fish tissue, wildlife diet, and bird egg. Canadian Soil and Groundwater Quality Guidelines have also been developed for PFOS. The development of guidelines for other PFAS is under consideration.

In February 2023, Health Canada proposed an objective for total detectable PFAS in drinking water. Once finalized, the objective will replace the existing guidelines for PFOS and PFOA, and screening values for nine other PFAS. The objective is lower than the existing maximum values, further protecting people in Canada.

Addressing Fire-Fighting Foams
In 2021, Health Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada announced an action plan to protect firefighters from harmful chemicals released during household fires. The plan outlines a series of actions such as conducting research and monitoring of firefighters’ level of exposure to chemicals, including PFAS.

The Government of Canada continues to take action to reduce the environmental and human health risks from known federal contaminated sites through the Federal Contaminated Sites Action Plan, including those impacted with PFAS associated with the historic use of PFAS containing firefighting foams. Non-federal PFAS contaminated sites also exist in Canada; these are under the jurisdiction of the provinces, territories and/or municipal health authorities.

Addressing Biosolids
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is working with Environment and Climate Change Canada, Health Canada and provincial governments to develop a coordinated approach to consider the potential concern associated with biosolids contaminated with PFAS, and to protect the safety of Canadian agriculture. In May 2023, the CFIA proposed an interim standard for products that are imported or sold as fertilizers or supplements. CFIA engaged with stakeholders and provincial governments in the summer of 2023 to seek feedback on their proposed interim standard. A further 60-day public consultation was held between December 2023 and February 2024. Comments received were generally supportive of the proposal and the CFIA anticipates publishing the new interim standard during spring 2024.

International Efforts
In 2021, Canada nominated LC-PFCAs, their salts and related compounds for addition to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. This international environmental treaty aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants.

Research and Monitoring
The Government of Canada conducts regular monitoring and surveillance of certain PFAS in the environment, wildlife and people living in Canada. The data show that while the levels of certain PFAS have decreased over time in the Canadian population, other PFAS continue to increase in certain sub-populations.

The Government of Canada continues to examine the potential health effects of PFAS, such as their potential contribution to metabolic diseases and their effects on potentially disproportionately impacted populations (including pregnant people, and children). Research to understand firefighter's exposure to chemicals, including PFAS, is also underway.

Ongoing surveillance of PFAS in foods through the Total Diet Study is required to ensure levels do not increase. Additionally, a range of activities associated with the environmental concerns of PFAS, such as research on the accumulation and toxicity of certain PFAS in organisms, and extensive monitoring in various ecosystems and wildlife, have taken place and are ongoing.

• Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a class of over 4,700 human-made substances referred to as “forever chemicals” because they are extremely persistent in the environment.
• These substances are used in many industrial sectors, in certain firefighting foams, and in a wide range of products, including food packaging, non-stick cookware, cosmetics, textiles, vehicle parts, and electronics. PFAS are found nearly everywhere in the Canadian environment (ambient air, indoor air, dust, and drinking water) and in people living in Canada, even in remote regions.
• Scientific evidence to date indicates that certain PFAS are associated with adverse effects on the environment and on human health, and the Government of Canada has taken action to address some sub-groups of PFAS.
• On May 20, 2023, the Government published a draft State of PFAS report that summarizes the current scientific evidence on these chemicals and proposes that PFAS as a class may cause harm to both human health and the environment, i.e., meets the definition of “toxic” under section 64 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).
• Comments on the State of PFAS report and risk management scope are being considered and a summary of public comments and responses is expected to be published in the coming months. Additional opportunities for stakeholder engagement will be provided during subsequent steps.
• If the assessment conclusions are confirmed, the Government will propose actions to address identified risks, including controls for PFAS in firefighting foams as well as options to minimize environmental and human exposure from other sources and products.
• The Government will also continue to invest in monitoring of PFAS in human and environmental samples, and in research on their potential human health and environmental effects.
• In February 2023, Health Canada in collaboration with provinces, territories, and other federal departments proposed a new group-based objective for PFAS in drinking water that is expected to be finalized in the summer of 2024. This new group-based objective will reduce Canadians’ exposure to PFAS in drinking water.