Question Period Note: PESTICIDE PROGRAM TRANSFORMATION AND TARGETED REVIEW OF THE PEST CONTROL PRODUCTS ACT

• On August 4th, 2021, the Federal Government announced that it would begin consulting on specific provisions of the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) to consider ways to balance how pesticide review processes are initiated in Canada and increase transparency. In addition, the Federal Government announced a $50 million investment in Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)'s pest management research, to be supported by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
• This includes $42 million over three years to be invested in the PMRA to further strengthen its oversight and protection of human health and the environment. A further $7 million will be invested to AAFC, and $1 million to ECCC in supporting work, to accelerate the research, development and adoption of alternative pest management solutions.
• This investment supports Health Canada’s commitment set forth in the Prime Minister’s Mandate letter: To ensure Canadians are protected from risks associated with the use of pesticides and to better protect human health, wildlife and the environment, modernize and strengthen the Pest Control Products Act to ensure it supports transparency, use of independent scientific evidence and input to the decision-making process.

• The Government of Canada takes pesticide safety very seriously, and believes strongly in making evidence-based scientific decisions. Pesticides are only registered in Canada after being thoroughly assessed to ensure no harm to human health or the environment will result from their use.
• Health Canada is strengthening its oversight and protection of human health and the environment. This includes improving access to independent data, modernized business processes, and improving transparency of the regulatory process and decision-making on pesticides.
• In 2021, the Federal Government promised results for Canadians by modernizing and strengthening the Pest Control Products Act to ensure it supports transparency, use of independent scientific evidence and input to the decision-making process. To fulfil these objectives, Health Canada started extensive public consultations on March 21, 2022, including engagement with Indigenous communities, partners and other stakeholders, on ways the Government of Canada can increase transparency and strengthen human health and environmental protections when reviewing pesticides.

IF PRESSED ON FURTHER DETAIL OF THE FUNDING ANNOUNCEMENT
• The 42 million dollars announced on August 4, 2021 for the PMRA will allow the generation of additional independent data (including new water and agricultural monitoring information) and create an expert panel to provide advice, when appropriate, on pesticides.
• On January 27, 2022, Health Canada officially launched a call for nominations to create a new Science Advisory Committee on Pest Control Products in Canada. Nominations closed March 11, 2022 and the committee membership will be announced in the coming weeks. The committee is expected to hold its first meeting later this spring.

In Canada, all pesticides are subject to the federal Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) administered by Health Canada. Under the Act, pesticide products must be registered, or otherwise authorized, before they may be sold or used in Canada.

Before pesticides are approved, they must undergo a rigorous scientific assessment process, inclusive of hundreds of types of scientific studies, that provides reasonable certainty that no harm to human health and the environment will occur when it is used according to label directions.

In 2021, the Federal Government promised results for Canadians by modernizing and strengthening the Pest Control Products Act to ensure it supports transparency, use of independent scientific evidence and input to the decision-making process. To fulfil these objectives, Health Canada started extensive public consultations on March 21, 2022, including engagement with Indigenous communities, partners and other stakeholders, on ways the Government of Canada can increase transparency and strengthen human health and environmental protections when reviewing pesticides.

The Federal Government announced a $50 million investment in Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC)'s pest management research, to be supported by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

This includes $42 million over three years for the PMRA to further strengthen its oversight and protection of human health and the environment. This includes improving the availability of independent data to further support pesticide review decisions, and the transparency of decision-making. A further $7 million will be invested in AAFC to accelerate the research, development and adoption of alternative pest management solutions and $1 million to ECCC to support the work.

Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is undertaking a transformation process that will strengthen its oversight and its protection of human health and the environment. The transformation process will ensure the pesticide review process meets the expectations of Canadians in the areas of transparency and sustainability.

Transformation will be undertaken in four major areas: improved transparency; increased use of real-world data and independent advice; strengthened human health and environmental protection through modernized business processes; and a targeted review of the Pest Control Products Act.

This new funding will support development of opportunities for external parties such as non-government organizations, universities, and governments to provide independent data for consideration in the pesticide approval process, as well as allow Health Canada to increase independent data generation. It will allow the modernization of business processes for pesticide reviews to ensure they strengthen environmental and human health protection, and improve transparency and stakeholder accessibility. It will also allow the creation of a new expert panel process to provide advice, as appropriate, prior to certain evidence-based decisions of the PMRA on pesticides.

On January 27, 2022, Health Canada officially launched a call for nominations to create a new Science Advisory Committee on Pest Control Products in Canada. Nominations closed March 11, 2022 and the committee membership will be announced in the coming weeks. The Committee will provide expert, independent scientific advice to support Health Canada in evidence-based decision making on pesticides to better protect human health, wildlife and the environment.

The Science Advisory Committee on Pest Control Products in Canada will provide independent scientific advice in response to targeted questions from the PMRA related to specific technical aspects of assessments or scientific reviews. For example, PMRA could ask the Committee to provide scientific advice on certain assumptions or scientific data underpinning a particular pesticide assessment; however, not all pesticide decisions will go to the Committee for specific scientific advice.

On March 21, 2022, Health Canada launched consultations on specific elements of the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) through the discussion paper: Further Strengthening Protection of Health and the Environment: Targeted Review of the Pest Control Products Act.

This consultation will run until June 30, 2022 and seeks input to inform the targeted review of specific elements of the PCPA. The consultation is designed to help identify potential legislative changes that could strengthen human health and environmental through modernized review processes, improved transparency and stakeholder accessibility, and increased use of real-world and independent data in decision making.

KEY FACTS
• Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) is undergoing a transformation process that will strengthen its oversight and its protection of human health and the environment. The transformation process will ensure the pesticide review process meets the expectations of Canadians in the areas of transparency and sustainability.
• Transformation will be undertaken in four major areas: improved transparency; increased use of real-world data and independent advice; strengthened human health and environmental protection through modernized business processes; and a targeted review of the Pest Control Products Act.
• The targeted legislative review will help the PMRA determine the legislative changes to the PCPA required to modernize and strengthen the regulatory system on issues like transparency, modernized business processes and the use of real world data.
• On March 21, 2022, Health Canada launched consultations on specific elements of the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) through the discussion paper: Further Strengthening Protection of Health and the Environment: Targeted Review of the Pest Control Products Act.
• This consultation will run until June 30, 2022 and seeks input to inform the targeted review of specific elements of the PCPA. The consultation is designed to help identify potential legislative changes that could strengthen human health and environmental through modernized review processes, improved transparency and stakeholder accessibility, and increased use of real-world and independent data in decision-making.