ENVI Committee Report

Recommendation 1

That the government publish biennially, in electronic and hard copy formats, a comprehensive state of the environment report to provide timely, accurate and accessible environmental information, integrated with socioeconomic factors, to improve decision-making and support progress towards sustainability.

Recommendation 2

That the government amend Part 5 of CEPA 1999 to state that a guiding principle in controlling toxic substances is that industry has the responsibility of demonstrating, to the satisfaction of the Minister, that the risks of new and existing substances of concern are acceptable.

Recommendation 3

That Environment Canada , in assessing chemicals on the DSL as well as any others yet to undergo an environmental assessment, recognize that chemicals may be persistently present because of their continuous release into the environment.

Recommendation 4

That the government amend CEPA 1999 to ensure that information regarding manufacture, import and use of substances is updated on a yearly basis.

Recommendation 5

That the government amend s. 72 and s. 46 of CEPA 1999 in order that it may obtain information on any substances of concern so that decisions regarding substances are made on the most comprehensive data set possible.

Recommendation 6

That, should REACH come into effect, the government immediately initiate negotiations toward an agreement to gain access to test data submitted under REACH that has been deemed confidential business information. In addition CEPA 1999 should be amended to require that information submitted to REACH on substances imported into Canada be submitted to Canadian authorities.

Recommendation 7

That the government enter into negotiations with other OECD countries to exchange information respecting any substance of concern, and that CEPA 1999 be amended to this end if necessary.

Recommendation 8

That the government amend CEPA 1999 to enable it to require third party verification of data provided by persons under s. 46 or s. 71 of the Act.

Recommendation 9

That the government release complete draft assessments of new substances to notifiers and publish electronically complete draft assessments of existing substances, so that all stakeholders have a better opportunity to respond.

Recommendation 10

That the government facilitate public access to appropriate information by amending CEPA 1999 to make disclosure of confidential test data mandatory in a manner similar to the Pest Control Products Act.

Recommendation 11

That the government of Canada provide sufficient funding to enable cooperation between Environment Canada and Statistics Canada to:

·        Produce and publish an annual report critically analysing the results of the NPRI data including trends where possible; and,

·        To ensure that the quality of NPRI data collected are continually improved to better inform Canadians and help strengthen policies to prevent pollution.

Recommendation 12

That CEPA 1999 be amended to oblige the Ministers to put in place a permanent biomonitoring study that is representative of the Canadian population, including vulnerable populations.

Recommendation 13

That the government:

·        Amend CEPA 1999 to oblige the Ministers to perform research into the effects of complex mixtures of chemicals on human and environmental health;

·        Use s.46 and s.71 to require industry to submit information on the effects of complex mixtures; and,

·        Require information on the cumulative effects of substances with a common mechanism of toxicity in the New Substances Notification Regulations where there is reason to believe that such environmental or human exposures may occur.

Recommendation 14

That the government add developmental neurotoxicity tests to those required in the New Substances Notification Regulations and that such tests also be applied to existing substances of concern.

Recommendation 15

That the government make it a requirement for producers of new and existing substances deemed to be persistent or high production volume to perform chronic toxicity studies on these substances according to OECD Guideline 452, and submit the results to the Ministers as part of the risk assessment.

Recommendation 16

That the government amend CEPA 1999 to ensure:

·        In the case of a screening that determines a substance to be toxic, a timeline of two years from the beginning of the screening assessment to the commencement of an implementation plan; and,

·        In the case of a screening that determines the need for a full Priority Substance List assessment, a timeline of five years from the beginning of the screening assessment to the commencement of an implementation plan.

Recommendation 17

That CEPA 1999 be amended in the preamble to include recognition of the need to protect the most vulnerable in our society, particularly children, and that Part 5 be amended to include language similar to the Pest Control Products Act, directing that consideration of vulnerable groups take place in the risk assessment process, including an extra ten-times safety factor for children where appropriate.

Recommendation 18

That the government amend CEPA 1999 to add an additional paragraph to the preamble recognizing the need to protect vulnerable ecosystems and that it explore fully its options under s. 330 (3.1) to create regulations with limited geographical application in order to protect the Great Lakes and any other vulnerable ecosystems in Canada.

Recommendation 19

That the government consider amending CEPA 1999 so that substances on the “In Commerce List” are prioritised in a similar way as categorization was done on the Domestic Substance List, while also considering that some of these substances may be persistently present because of their continuous release into the environment.

Recommendation 20

That the government immediately begin:

·        Regulating products containing toxic substances using CEPA 1999 as the principal statute to this end; and,

·        A review of the Hazardous Products Act in order to better coordinate it with CEPA 1999.

Recommendation 21

That CEPA 1999 be amended by removing the requirement to establish a level of quantification before addition of a substance to the Virtual Elimination List.

Recommendation 22

That the government amend CEPA 1999 to clarify that prohibition regulations are an option toward achieving the objective of virtual elimination.

Recommendation 23

That Environment Canada engage stakeholders in identifying and implementing best practice risk management actions as soon as a risk assessment has begun.

Recommendation 24

That Environment Canada create a formal performance measurement mechanism for pollution prevention plans that will enable their achievements to be measured.

Recommendation 25

That the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, in his next performance audit of the management of toxic substances, examine whether or not pollution prevention plans are reducing the creation of pollution.

Recommendation 26

That the government amend CEPA 1999 to include specific instructions to strengthen current efforts by which replacement of toxic substances by suitable alternative substances or technologies are considered in pollution prevention, risk assessment and management, and virtual elimination, including their risks and the technical and economic feasibility of substitution.

Recommendation 27

That the government allot sufficient funds to increase A‑Base funding to the Departments of Health and Environment so that CEPA 1999 can be implemented more effectively.

Recommendation 28

That the government consider a provision for fine splitting, similar to that provided for in the Fisheries Act, and other intervener funding as means to address the identified financial barriers to public participation. In addition, that the government amend s. 22 (2) of CEPA 1999 so that an environmental protection action may be brought to court if the offence may result, in harm or serious risk of harm to the environment or human, animal, plant life or health.

Recommendation 29

That the government amend s. 10 of CEPA 1999 to clarify that provincial permitting systems may qualify as equivalent, and add that equivalency agreements must contain provisions for monitoring to ensure that their effects are equivalent.

Recommendation 30

That the Department of the Environment create a system to measure and evaluate the role and implementation of the enforcement provisions of CEPA 1999.

Recommendation 31

That the government change Schedule 1 to include the following information pertinent to each substance on it:

·        The subsection of section 64 that was met that triggered listing;

·        A brief synopsis of the reasons why it is toxic at the doses observed; and,

·        When available, the risk management tool intended to apply to the substance.