ENVI Committee News Release
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Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development |
HOUSE OF COMMONS CHAMBRE DES COMMUNES OTTAWA, CANADA K1A 0A6 |
Comité permanent de l'environnement et du développement durable |
For immediate release
NEWS RELEASE
The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 - Five Year Review: Closing the Gaps
Ottawa, May 02, 2007 -
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development tabled in Parliament today the Committee’s final report following its statutory review of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
The Committee began its study in May 2006 and heard from more than 70 witnesses including many international and Canadian witnesses via teleconferencing. The Committee worked in a very cooperative and non-partisan manner and heard from witnesses with many different points of view, preferably at the same meeting in order to initiate productive debate.
The final report, entitled “Closing the Gaps,” includes 31 recommendations to strengthen the implementation of the Act and the foundation of knowledge upon which the Act rests.
“In our examination of the Act, it was clear that Canada has, in many ways, a world leading piece of legislation. It just needs to be implemented more efficiently with a greater eye on achieving concrete benefits for human and environmental health” said the Chair of the Committee, Bob Mills. He added that “managing the risks of chemical substances is a difficult task that requires a solid base of knowledge. We have made many recommendations to strengthen this aspect of the risk management system.”
Some of the recommendations include:
• Increasing cooperation with international partners, particularly in Europe, on information gathering and sharing;
• Emphasizing that industry must bear the responsibility of demonstrating that the risks associated with all substances, new and existing, are acceptable;
• Requiring better information gathering and reporting on the state of the environment and the effects of substances on human health;
• Taking into account vulnerable populations and ecosystems;
• Reducing the timeframe to assess substances;
• Moving in cooperation with industry to reduce the risks of substances early in the risk and management assessment processes; and,
• Requiring greater information from industry including on neurotoxicity, chronic exposure to substances and the effects of complex mixtures of chemicals.
Canadians need to know that the environment in which they live is healthy and that substances that pose a risk to their health are managed properly, including prohibiting them if necessary. CEPA 1999 is a strong piece of legislation toward this end that will be made more effective with the implementation of the Committee’s recommendations.
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