ENVI Committee Report
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INTRODUCTION
As with every report, there are very good reasons for writing this one. To begin with, a study into the use of pesticides and their impact on human health and the environment is overdue.
The federal Pest Control Products Act, which governs pesticides and their use in Canada, has not undergone any major amendment since 1969. The activities of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency, the branch within Health Canada that administers the Act, have not been publicly scrutinized since the Agency's inception in 1995. In addition, of the more than 7000 pesticides approved for use in Canada, many have not been re-evaluated for years. Their safety has therefore not been reassessed to account for the vulnerability of children and today's more stringent standards for risk assessment. Thus it appeared timely to examine the pesticides management system in Canada.
Other reasons for carrying out this study include the observations made by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development in a report released in May 1999. The Commissioner highlighted the connection between pesticides and the health of Canadians and underscored the need to improve what he deemed to be a deficient pesticide management system. In particular, the Commissioner stated there was an urgent need to re-evaluate long approved pesticides based on new, more rigorous standards.
Scientific and medical journals increasingly report the risks posed to human health by pesticides, including links between pesticides and diseases such as breast cancer and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. One should also mention the mounting evidence of the negative impacts of pesticides on wildlife and the environment, all of which have prompted Canadians to register their disapproval of pesticides and take action to reduce their use.
Canada's international commitments provided added incentive. In May 1997, Canada signed the Declaration of the Environment Leaders of the Eight on Children's Environmental Health,1 which gives priority to environmental issues affecting children's health. Canada was also the first country to ratify the 1998 Protocol on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) under the UN Economic Commission for Europe's 1979 Convention on Long Range Transboundary Air Pollution. This Protocol lists 16 POPs substances, 11 of which are pesticides. At present Canada is engaged in negotiations under the United Nations Environment Program to develop a legally binding treaty regarding 12 POPs substances.
The last reason for this report is the specific reference to pesticides in the Speech from the Throne of October 12, 1999:
| The Government will protect the health of Canadians by strengthening Canada's food safety program, by taking further action on environmental health issues, including the potential health risks presented by pesticides, and by modernizing overall health protection for a changing world. |
This report is the work of a dedicated Committee which, as of June 1999, held 38 meetings, heard testimony from 85 witnesses and analyzed over 50 briefs. A special expression of thanks goes to the team of researchers, the Committee Clerk and all his staff.
Ottawa, May 2000
1 Declaration signed by members of the G-8.