Canadian Draft Guidance for Notification and Testing of New Substances

Under the New Substance Program, Environment and Climate Canada and Health Canada are responsible for administering the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers) and the New Substances Notification Regulations (Organisms). Recently, the Canadian government published the Guidelines for the Notification and Testing of New Substances were prepared to assist individuals responsible for complying with the New Substances Notification Regulations (NSNR) under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999(CEPA, 1999). There is a time-to-time amendments in the Domestic Substance List and Non-Domestic Substance List. Non-Domestic Substance list updates are based on the US EPA’s TSCA Chemical Substances Inventory. 

Guidance Document is meant to help notifiers determine whether a substance is subject to a notification under the regulations or not and to identify the information requirements for the notification.  

In addition to the above it provides, 

• step-by-step instructions for the completion of a New Substances Notification (NSN); 

• user-friendly flowcharts to aid in determining the appropriate schedule to file. 

• technical considerations of the information requirements. 

• detailed instructions on how to complete the New Substances Notification Form; 

• identification of appropriate test procedures and practices to use; and 

• an outline of how confidential information should be submitted. 

Comments provided by June 30, 2021 will be taken into consideration during the development of the final Guidance Document. Comments can be submitted using the online reporting system available through Environment and Climate Change Canada’s Single Window or by email to eccc.substances.eccc@canada.ca. In accordance with section 313 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, any person who provides information may submit, with the information, a request that it be treated as confidential. Comments received will be considered when developing the final Guidance Document, which is expected to be published late 2021. 

The draft Guidance Document can be found here.  

Last update: 2021-04-21