Government
of Canada Takes Action on an Additional
Four Substances Assessed under Canada's
World-Leading Chemicals Management Plan
March 6, 2009 - For
immediate release - OTTAWA - The Honourable
Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, and
Canada's Environment Minister, the Honourable
Jim Prentice, today announced the release
of the final screening assessment reports
and proposed risk management approaches
for 19 substances included in Batch 3 on
the Government's chemicals management website.
"This is an important
step towards further protecting the health
of Canadians and our environment,"
said Minister Aglukkaq. "Our government
is taking action to reduce Canadians' exposure
to substances of concern and to put in place
new assessments for substances that could
be harmful if widely used."
"We have considered
all information submitted by industry, academics
and non-governmental organizations,"
added Minister Prentice. "We will continue
to work with stakeholders so that chemical
substances are managed safely and responsibly
in Canada."
Of the 19 substances
assessed in Batch 3, the following four
are of concern to human health: 2-(2-Methoxyethoxy)
ethanol (DEGME); 2-Methoxyethanol acetate
(2-MEA); 2-methoxy-1-propanol; and C.I.
Pigment Red 3. These substances are not
a concern to the environment. The Government
is proposing a number of risk management
options to reduce Canadians' exposure to
these substances.
An additional four substances
pose no immediate risks to human health
or the environment but have properties that
could be harmful if they were widely used.
Significant New Activity provisions are
being proposed for Disperse Blue 19, PDDAM,
Pigment Red 251 given they could be harmful
to the environment and for 2-Ethoxyethanol
acetate which could be of concern to human
health. This will prevent these substances
from being used in the future without undergoing
a new series of assessments.
The remaining 11 substances
in Batch 3 do not pose a risk to human health
or the environment.
Notices containing summaries
of the final screening assessment reports
will be published in Canada Gazette, Part
I on March 7, 2009. Publication of the notices
in Canada Gazette, Part I will be followed
by a 60-day public comment period. The complete
final screening assessments as well as proposed
risk management documents for all Batch
3 substances can be found on the Chemicals
Management Plan website. Interested parties
can submit comments on these documents until
May 6, 2009.
The Government of Canada
is committed to meeting the five-year timeline
that was announced in 2006 for completion
of work under the Chemicals Management Plan.
Batch review dates will be updated regularly
on the department's website.
+ More
New Enforcement Legislation
Cracks Down On Environmental Offenders
Ottawa -- March 4, 2009
-- Cracking down on polluters, poachers
and wildlife smugglers through increased
fines and new enforcement tools are the
main elements of the Environmental Enforcement
Bill introduced in the House of Commons
today by Environment Minister Jim Prentice.
A key provision of the
new bill is that it raises maximum fines
and introduces minimum fines for the first
time. Under the proposed bill, fines for
individuals who commit serious offences
would be between $5,000 and $1 million,
while fines for corporations would be between
$25,000 and $6 million. The bill also gives
enforcement officers new powers to investigate
cases and grants courts new sentencing authorities
that ensure penalties reflect the seriousness
of the pollution and wildlife offences.
"In the election
campaign, our government committed to bolster
the protection of our water, air and land
through tougher environmental enforcement
that holds polluters accountable. Today
we delivered," said Minister Prentice.
"This bill, together with funding commitments
of $43 million from Budgets 2007 and 2008
to hire more enforcement officers and to
implement the new measures, will provide
a comprehensive, modern and effective enforcement
regime for Canada."
Through the Environmental
Enforcement Bill, it is proposed that Parliament
signal through new statutory provisions
the level of fines appropriate for environmental
offences and expand the authority to deal
with environmental offenders by:
specifying aggravating
factors such as damage to a protected area
or to a unique or vulnerable environment
or species;
providing fine ranges higher for corporate
offenders than for individuals;
doubling fine ranges for repeat offenders;
authorizing the suspension and cancellation
of offender licenses, permits or other authorizations
upon conviction;
requiring corporate offenders to report
convictions to shareholders; and
mandating the reporting of corporate offences
on a public registry.
As well, the bill directs that fines imposed
by the courts go to the Environmental Damages
Fund which provides funding to local environmental
improvement initiatives.
The existing environmental
laws to be improved by the omnibus Environment
Enforcement Bill, some of which have not
been updated in over two decades, are:
The Canadian Environmental
Protection Act, 1999
The Canada Wildlife Act
The Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994
The Wild Animal and Plant Protection and
Regulation of International and Interprovincial
Trade Act
The Antarctic Environmental Protection Act
The International River Improvements Act
The Canada National Parks Act
The Canada National Marine Conservation
Areas Act
The Saguenay-St. Lawrence Marine Park Act
The new legislation builds on the Budget
2007 commitment of $22 million for the hiring
of 106 new officers, bringing the number
of on-the-ground enforcement officers across
the country to more than 320, and the Budget
2008 allocation of $21 million over two
years to implement the stricter environmental
enforcement measures.
Frédéric Baril
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of the Environment
