Canada Regulatory News

The Canadian government has posted draft screening assessments for a batch of 34 chemical compounds, inclusive of lithium- and barium-containing substances. The government recommends that ...

The Canadian government has posted draft screening assessments for a batch of 34 chemical compounds, inclusive of lithium- and barium-containing substances. The government recommends that they pose a "low chance of damage to the environment".

The draft assessments under the Canadian Environment Safety Act (CEPA) endorse that the 34 substances do now not meet health or environmental hazard criteria essential for further regulatory movement. Consistent with the outcomes of a CEPA survey, most of the substances do not have direct consumer uses. However, some can be used to make food packaging materials while others are present in products available to customers along with cosmetics, sealants, and disinfectants.

In the draft screening assessment, ecological risks were characterised using the Ecological Risk Classification for Inorganic Substances (ERC-I). Based on the ERC-I analysis, the 34 substances in the assessment are considered "unlikely to cause ecological harm". As part of the screening, human biomonitoring data or "rapid screening" was analyzed to evaluate the potential for direct exposure from products as well as indirect exposure through the environment.

The government proposes that the substances do not meet any of the criteria in CEPA's section 64, which defines a substance as toxic if it enters the environment in a way that may cause harm based on the evidence presented in the draft screening assessment.

The 34 substances include lanthanum oxide, bismuth-containing substances, lithium, lithium chloride and lithium fluoride, as well as various other lithium salts.

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), on 7 March 2022, proposes a maximum residue limit for Pyraziflumid (PMRL2022-02).  The proposed limit includes: MRL (ppm)1 Ra...

The Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), on 7 March 2022, proposes a maximum residue limit for Pyraziflumid (PMRL2022-02).  

The proposed limit includes:

You can comment on this consultation before May 15, 2022. And the rule is meant to come into force between four to five months of posting the proposed MRL. 

In January 2022, Cosmetic Alliance (CA) and a representative from their allied stakeholder coalition met with Health Canada (HC) officials to discuss the ban of cosmetics testing on animals in Canada....

In January 2022, Cosmetic Alliance (CA) and a representative from their allied stakeholder coalition met with Health Canada (HC) officials to discuss the ban of cosmetics testing on animals in Canada. HC is currently working on publishing a policy to end cosmetics testing on animals.

According to CA, the proposed policy is based on three points which are:

·       It should align with the ban of cosmetics animal testing in the European Union (EU).

·       It should fit and be workable within the Canadian regulatory framework.

·       It should be drafted by Health Canada.

There remains a lot of work for the government to do regarding the publication and implementation of this policy. However, it is expected that the government will want to have the initiative completed by August 2023 when the International Congress on Alternatives to Animal testing will be hosted in Canada at Niagara Falls, Ontario.

There is no universal ban on animal testing for cosmetics, however, many countries are moving in this direction. In September 2021, Mexico banned animal testing of cosmetics products, in addition to about 42 other nations. In the United States, seven states have implemented this ban while other states consider doing the same.

Canada has embraced Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) directions for certain customer and commercial products, setting up the most extreme concentration...

Canada has embraced Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) directions for certain customer and commercial products, setting up the most extreme concentration limits in around 130 item categories.

Published in the Canada Journal this month, the Volatile Organic Compound Concentration Limits for Certain Items Controls will boycott the manufacture and import of products with VOCs exceeding their category-specific limits unless a permit is obtained, in an effort to diminish the arrangement of ground-level ozone.

Product types covered by them include certain:  

• automotive and household maintenance products;  
• adhesives, adhesive removers, sealants and caulks;
• personal care products;  
• other miscellaneous products.  

The VOC concentration limits will take impact on 1 January 2024 for all item categories. However, disinfectants have an extra year to comply. The regulations require manufacturers and importers of regulated products to keep certain records for at least five years, and to set out three alternative compliance options "to provide flexibility". 

Last Update: 2022-01-26

Transport Canada (TC) recently opened a discussion to revise Part 6 of the Transportation of Dangerous Products (TDG) and set new training requirements.  Published in the Canada Gazette Part 1 on...

Transport Canada (TC) recently opened a discussion to revise Part 6 of the Transportation of Dangerous Products (TDG) and set new training requirements. 

Published in the Canada Gazette Part 1 on 11 December 2021, the recommendations aim at providing a more grounded system for the training oversight by removing the words ‘adequately prepared’ from the TDG Regulations and inputting references to the new standard CAN/CGSB-192.3-202- Transportation of dangerous goods training, assessment, and competency.

This new move is fostered by the increasing mindfulness of the existing training provisions that do not provide a vigorous body of rules. Although most stakeholders meet or surpass the training requirements, TC inspectors have noticed that some employees need to know more about the knowledge and skills needed to do this dangerous goods transportation, despite having a valid training certificate. TDG monitoring program discovered that 55 of the 409 dangerous good incidents (that resulted in injury or death between 2014 and 2019) were ascribed to the lack of proper and adequate training.

Transport Canada has been working for quite some years on the issue. It started a targeted consultation in 2016, including more than 100 agents from government, specialists, companies, industry affiliations and training suppliers, after which there was a more firmly focused consultation with 35 of the stakeholders; and after that, there was an open online meeting. After all these came the improvement of measures and propositions for regulatory revision.

Last Update: 2022-01-26

The Health and Environment Ministry of Canada has proposed a recommendation to add organic substance used in paints and six flame retardants to the country's toxic substances’ list...

The Health and Environment Ministry of Canada has proposed a recommendation to add organic substance used in paints and six flame retardants to the country's toxic substances’ list. The six flame retardants are part of a group of ten substances that the government assessed to determine whether they have any health or environmental risks. 

These substances are to be added to Schedule 1 of the Act. The ministers also released a risk management scope document for these substances in initiating discussions with stakeholders on the development of risk management actions. Furthermore, this will allow the government to put restriction on the exposure of these chemicals.  

Out of these ten, some of the six chemicals poses risk to the environment, while others enter the environment in a quantity or concentration that may cause danger to human health. These six chemicals are:  

• triphenyl phosphate (TPHP); 
• tert-butylphenyl diphenyl phosphate (BPDP); 
• bis(tert-butylphenyl) phenyl phosphate (BDMEPPP); 
• isodecyl diphenyl phosphate (IDDP); 
• isopropylated triphenyl phosphate (IPPP); and  

• triethylphosphate (TEP). 

The ministries said they are planning regulatory action to minimise wastewater releases of TPHP, BPDP, BDMEPPP, IDDP and IPPP.  Also, the government will consider regulatory and non-regulatory measures to reduce dermal exposures of children to IPPP and TEP, which can be used in mattress covers and child seats. However, there is no additional action on the other four flame retardants that were evaluated in the assessment.

Companies submitted their comments on the draft screening assessment of the flame retardant group within 60 days from 6th November 2021. The final screening assessment and the proposed risk management approach is expected to come into force in November 2022.  

Last Update: 2021-11-30

As per section 74 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health have conducted a screening assessment of Lotus ...

As per section 74 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health have conducted a screening assessment of Lotus corniculatus extract. This substance was identified as a priority for assessment, as it met the categorization criteria under subsection 73(1) of CEPA. Lotus corniculatus is a plant that is also known by the common name ‘bird's-foot trefoil’.  

The ecological risk of Lotus corniculatus extract was characterized using the ecological risk classification of organic substances (ERC), a risk-based approach that employs multiple metrics for both hazard and exposure, with weighted consideration of multiple lines of evidence for determining risk classification.  

Considering all available lines of evidence presented in this screening assessment, there is a low risk of harm to the environment from Lotus corniculatus extract. It is concluded that Lotus corniculatus extract does not meet the criteria under paragraph 64(a) or (b) of CEPA, as it is not entering the environment in a quantity, concentration or under conditions that have or may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity. Also, the quantity does or may not constitute danger to the environment on which life depends. 

The general population of Canada may be exposed to Lotus corniculatus extract through the use of cosmetics, including body lotion and lip balm. 

The Government of Canada is accepting comments on the draft screening assessment for 60 days, until 13th October.