Canada is currently in the process of amending the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). It is the federal Act regulating all ‘chemicals of concern’ in commerce in the country. Chemical assessment and the regulations flowing from it are strictly a federal matter in terms of the impacts of those chemicals on human health and the environment. Those amendments were recently tabled in the Senate of Canada and are expected to conclude by year-end 2022.
Over the past 15 years there were more than 4,000 substances of concern assessed of the 23,000 substances identified at the outset by the federal government. More than 1,550 of these substances were found to be used in coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers (CASE). The fourth round of chemical assessment in Canada has already begun. However, the list of additional chemicals to be prioritized over the next five years has yet to be announced. It is still unclear what actual impact the proposed amendments to CEPA will have on the way in which the federal government conducts chemical assessment going forward. The current amendments seem reasonable in that the risk-based approach for assessment under CEPA is being retained because it has worked very well to date. In fact, governments in other countries have acknowledged that fact, and some have even adopted Canada’s approach to chemical assessment.