Health Canada and Environment Climate Change Canada Announce New Regulatory Developments Under Updated CEPA

Health Canada and Environment Climate Change Canada (ECCC) have unveiled a comprehensive action plan detailing the development of new regulations following the recent review of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). As part of the initiative, they have outlined a series of public consultations that will begin in the spring of 2024. These consultations will focus on establishing criteria for classifying high-risk substances and exploring potential restrictions and authorizations of certain toxic substances.

The legislative update, enacted through Bill S-5 - entitled the Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act – received Royal Assent on June 13, 2023. This important legislation reinvigorates CEPA, first introduced in 1999, by affirming the right to a healthy environment, strengthening the chemicals management framework, and increasing the transparency of administrative processes.

The Government of Canada is actively working to implement the modernized Act through a variety of measures, including the creation of new frameworks, policies, strategies, regulations, and processes. These initiatives will provide numerous opportunities for public engagement and input, ensuring a participatory approach to environmental management.

Upcoming Public Consultation Opportunities

The schedule for the public consultations, that are essential to the strengthened and modernized CEPA is as follows. Each consultation period will last 60 days unless otherwise specified. Given the dynamic nature of policy development, these dates are subject to change and updates will be provided as necessary.

Consultation Timeline:

- Winter 2024: Discussion on implementation framework for the right to a healthy environment

- Spring/Summer 2024: Introduction of a Proposed Watch List approach

- Summer 2024: Plan outlining priorities for chemicals management

- Summer/Fall 2024: Strategies to replace, reduce, or refine testing on vertebrate animal

- Summer/Fall 2024: Draft implementation framework for the right to a healthy environment

- Winter 2025: Discussion document on regulations for the highest risk toxic substances

- Winter/Spring 2025:  Discussion on the restriction and authorization of certain toxic substances

Health Canada and the ECCC aim to streamline the consultation process to avoid overlapping requests and to align with the government’s policy-making cycle. Stakeholders and the public are encouraged to actively participate in these discussions to help shape a more robust and effective environmental protection regime under CEPA.