Question Period Note: Pesticid program transformation and targeted review of the pest control products act

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• On August 4, 2021, the Federal Government announced that it would begin consulting on specific provisions of the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) to consider ways to strengthen PMRA’s oversight and protection of human health and the environment and increase transparency in the regulation of pesticides. 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 Minister of Health’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 is strongly committed to making evidence-based scientific decisions. Pesticides are only approved for use in Canada after being thoroughly assessed to ensure no harm to human health or the environment will occur when used according to the label.
• Health Canada is implementing a Transformation Agenda to strengthen its oversight and protection of human health and the environment. This includes improving access to independent data, modernizing business processes, and improving transparency of the regulatory process and decision-making.
• Health Canada conducted extensive public consultations between March and June 2022. This feedback is being used to inform the targeted legislative review, as well as to inform the various initiatives currently underway.

IF PRESSED ON FURTHER DETAILS ON THE SCIENCE ADVISORY COMMITTEE
• To support the Transformation objective of increasing the use of independent advice, on June 27, 2022, Health Canada announced the membership of the new Science Advisory Committee on Pest Control Products (SAC-PCP) in Canada. The committee is meeting regularly to provide independent scientific advice to further support PMRA’s evidence-based decisions on health and environmental risks and value assessments of pesticides.
• The Committee held its first two meetings in July and October 2022 and has provided helpful advice to the PMRA on specific scientific questions including on Maximum Residue Limits. The third meeting of the SAC-PCP is anticipated in December 2022 where the committee will be asked to consider another scientific question from the PMRA.

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.

On August 4, 2021, 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).

To deliver on this commitment, the PMRA has established a Transformation Agenda, which focuses on four major areas: strengthen its oversight and protection of human health and the environment through modernized business processes. This includes increasing the availability of independent data and independent advice to better inform regulatory decision making, and improve transparency to increase the public’s understanding of the decision-making process for pesticides and a targeted review of the PCPA.

The Transformation agenda includes the creation of a new independent Science Advisory Committee on Pest Control Products in Canada (SAC-PCP). On January 27, 2022, Health Canada officially launched a call for nominations to create the new SAC-PCP. Nominations closed March 11, 2022, and the committee membership was announced on June 27, 2022. The committee held its first meeting in July. A second meeting was held October 20, and a subsequent meeting is scheduled for December 5, 2022.

The role of the Science Advisory Committee on Pest Control Products is to provide scientific advice, as appropriate, to Health Canada’s PMRA to help inform evidence-based decisions on pesticides.

The Committee is a source of scientific advice for PMRA on specific issues related to pest control products, including on MRL processes, and other scientific questions.

In Spring 2022, PMRA launched consultations with a broad range of partners and stakeholders on a targeted review of the PCPA through a discussion document published on Canada.ca. A total of 121 written submissions were received. Additionally, over 40 meetings were held with partners and stakeholders, including meetings of the Transformation Steering Committee (TSC), technical working groups (TWG), public information sessions, and meetings on an ad-hoc basis with stakeholders.

Throughout these consultations, PMRA heard from a variety of groups – pesticide manufacturer associations, agricultural and non-agricultural pesticide users, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academia, Indigenous organizations, the provinces and territories, foreign jurisdictions, including the United States, Australia and the European Union, and the general public.

This consultation concluded on June 30, 2022, followed by extensive review of the feedback received to inform the path forward on pesticides. The ‘What We Heard’ report, published on November 1, 2022, provides an overview of what PMRA heard through the consultation. As such, it is intended to reflect the views of respondents as they were expressed and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Government of Canada, the existing legislative framework in the PCPA or the operational practices of PMRA.

• 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 if any legislative changes to the PCPA are required to modernize and strengthen the regulatory system on issues like transparency, modernized business processes and the use of real world data.
• Between March 21 and June 30, 2022, Health Canada consulted 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.
• On November 1, 2022, Health Canada published a ‘What We Heard’ report for the Targeted Review of the PCPA. This report summarizes input from a broad range of stakeholders on the recent consultations regarding the Transformation Agenda and will inform the path forward on pesticides.
• Health Canada is currently taking into consideration all feedback received to inform the targeted legislative review, as well as to inform the various policy and regulatory initiatives currently underway.