Question Period Note: Strenghtening the Canadian environmental protection act, 1999

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• The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) is Canada’s key statute to prevent pollution and protect the environment and human health. The Act has not been substantially amended since 1999.
• On February 9, 2022, the Government introduced in the Senate Bill S-5: Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act to amend CEPA to better protect Canadians and their environment. Following study and amendments by the Senate, Bill S-5 was referred to the House of Commons on June 22, 2022.
• It is expected that Bill S-5 will be introduced in the House of Commons early in the fall, followed by referral to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development in October or November 2022.
• Mandate letters issued to both the Minister of Health and the Minister of Environment and Climate Change reaffirm the Government’s commitment to strengthen the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
• Our Government is committed to protecting the health and safety of all Canadians.
• By strengthening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, the Government will strengthen its ability to protect Canadians and their environment from harmful substances.
• A strengthened CEPA will promote alignment with the growing number of jurisdictions seeking to replace, reduce, or refine animal testing; protect subpopulations who may be more susceptible or highly exposed to harmful substances and take cumulative effects into account.

IF PRESSED ON THE MINISTER OF HEALTH’S SUPPORT OF S-5 …
• As the lead for these initiatives, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change will have my full support to strengthen the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, to better protect Canadians from harmful substances.

IF PRESSED ON HOW BILL S-5 WILL PROTECT CANADIANS …
• Bill S-5 recognizes the right to a healthy environment for every individual in Canada and it allows the government to better protect Canadians who are more exposed to harmful substances or more susceptible to their effects.

IF PRESSED ON WHETHER THE PROPOSED CHANGES UNDER CEPA WILL AFFECT THE PESTICIDES REGIME IN CANADA …
· CEPA and the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) are complementary pieces of legislation that contribute to federal management of toxic substances to protect human health and the environment.
· Proposed amendments to CEPA have no direct legal implications for the PCPA.
· Health Canada and Environment and Climate Change Canada collaborate across to maintain alignment and coherence in policy, science, regulatory decisions and public communications.
· Many requirements proposed in amendments to CEPA already exist under the PCPA or can be accommodated through policy, as needed to align with amendments to CEPA.
· The ongoing PMRA transformation agenda and targeted review of the PCPA will ensure that the pesticide regime in Canada continues to protect the health of Canadians, wildlife and the environment.

Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999:
The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 is Canada’s key statute to prevent pollution and protect the environment and human health. While the Act is mainly under the authority of the Minister of the Environment and Climate Change, the Minister of Health shares responsibility for Parts 5 and 6 of the Act, which requires the Government to assess and manage risks to the health of Canadians and the environment from substances.

The Minister of Health has authorities under the Act to:
• Conduct research and studies relating to the role of substances in illnesses or in health problems;
• Issue health-related environmental objectives, guidelines and codes of practice (e.g., national drinking water quality guidelines and health-based Residential Indoor Air Quality Guidelines); and,
• Assess and manage risks of substances to protect human health.

Mandate Letter Objectives:
Mandate letters issued to the Minister of Health and to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change instructed both Ministers to enact a strengthened CEPA to protect everyone, including people most vulnerable to harm from toxic substances.

Minister Guilbeault was further instructed in his mandate letter to recognize the “right to a healthy environment” in federal law and introduce legislation to require the development of an environmental justice strategy and the examination of the link between race, socio-economic status and exposure to environmental risk.

Further, amendments to CEPA will support the Minister of Health’s commitment to introduce legislation to end animal testing. Bill S-5 would amend CEPA to recognize the need to reduce reliance on vertebrate animal testing when assessing the risks that substances may pose to human health and the environment.

Consultations on supply chain transparency and labelling:
In addition, the Government has indicated that it will be moving forward on the following initiatives related to the labelling of products:
• Consultations, launched on March 4, 2022 and concluding in 2022, to enhance supply chain transparency and strengthen mandatory labelling in Canada.
• Proposed amendments to the Cosmetic Regulations to better inform consumers of the presence of certain fragrance allergens in cosmetics, which will help people make decisions and protect their own health.
• The publication of a Notice of Intent on the labelling of toxic substances in products, including toxic flame retardants in upholstered furniture.

CEPA Partners and the Chemicals Management Plan
Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) is a whole-of-government approach to chemicals management. The approach integrates a series of federal initiatives to collaboratively reduce and manage the risks to Canadians and the environment, posed by exposure to harmful substances, including chemicals and products of biotechnology, in a wide range of industrial and consumer products and uses, such as foods, cosmetics, pesticides and drugs and drinking water. Federal legislation contributing to the CMP include CEPA, the PCPA, the Food and Drugs Act (F&DA), the Fisheries Act (FA), the Hazardous Products Act (HPA), and the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA).

Questions may arise regarding potential impacts of amendments to CEPA introduced in Bill S-5 on partners and partner legislation.

Pest Control Products Act, 2002
The Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) is the federal statue for the regulation of pesticides in Canada. The primary objective of the PCPA is to prevent unacceptable risks to Canadians and the environment from the use of pest control products. The Act is under the sole purview of the Minister of Health. Under the Act, some of the responsibilities of the Minister of Health include:
· Premarket registration of new pesticides and new uses of registered pesticides, following a stringent, science-based assessment to determine if they have acceptable risk and value;
· Mandatory post-market re-evaluations to ensure products on the market meet modern standards for health and environmental protection; and,
· Post-market monitoring: mandatory incident and annual sales reporting.

While proposed amendments to CEPA have no direct legal implications for the PCPA, CEPA partners strive for policy, science and regulatory alignment. Many amendments proposed by CEPA already exist under the PCPA and regulatory regime has the flexibility to include most other changes through policy (e.g., protection of vulnerable populations).

• CEPA is Canada’s cornerstone federal environmental protection law protecting Canadians and the environment.
• On February 9, 2022, the Government introduced in the Senate Bill S-5: Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act, which would modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 for the first time in over twenty years and make related amendments to the Food and Drugs Act.
• Following third reading of Bill S-5, the Senate voted on June 22, 2022, to refer the Bill to the House of Commons.