Institutional links

• Main Menu

  • Canada's Actions on Chemicals
  • Chemicals Management Plan
    • Other Initiatives
    • Stakeholder Advisory Council
    • Monitoring & Surveillance
  • The Challenge
  • The Petroleum Sector Stream Approach
  • The Substance Groupings Initiative
  • Fact Sheets & Frequently Asked Questions

• Stay Connected

  • Latest News
  • Subscribe

• Explore...

  • Acronyms
  • Glossary
  • Site Map

• Accountability

  • Proactive Disclosure

Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) - Stakeholder Advisory Council Summary Report

Friday, May 7, 2010

Co-Chairs: George Enei (Director General, Science and Risk Assessment, Environment Canada), Karen Lloyd (Director General, Safe Environments Directorate, Health Canada).

Council members present: Catherine Abel (alternate for Dr. Keith Mussar), Claire Checkland, Shannon Coombs, Bruce Cran, Fe de Leon, Peter Forristal, Amardeep Khosla, Soha Kneen, Gordon Lloyd, Darrin Noble, Mary Richardson, Donald Sharp, Jack Soule, Janelle Witzel, Pat Van Horne.

Regrets: Diane Goulet, Keith Mussar, Fred Ruf and Dr. Robin Walker.

Opening Remarks:

The co-chairs opened the seventh Council meeting by welcoming Council members and seeking member approval for the summary report from the January 2010 meeting. Roundtable introductions were then initiated. Catherine Abel introduced herself as the alternate for Keith Mussar (representing Food and Consumer Products of Canada). Co-chairs then stated that the agenda would be full and that they were hopeful the presentations would be helpful in informing members of activities relevant to the work of the Council.

Presentation 1 - The CMP: Initiatives to strengthen the management of food borne chemicals

Samuel Godefroy (Director General, Health Products and Food Branch, Health Canada) gave a presentation summarizing the various departmental initiatives to manage food borne chemicals. The presentation began with an overview of the Food Directorate including its vision, mission and outcomes and was followed by a description of its key activities and principal areas of focus. Also presented were descriptions of the food implications of the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP), information gathering and screening assessments, and an overview of potential food-related risk management options and decisions for those substances meeting section 64 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999).

Significant discussion points from Council members following the presentation included:

• The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's and Health Canada's respective roles in food safety and consultation with stakeholders;
• A desire to meet jointly with Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency to address concerns;
• Potential updates to the Food and Drugs Act to include more current environmental health information;
• Initiating chemical-related changes in food versus advising on changes in cooking processes;
• Concern surrounding approach for non-threshold carcinogens under the Ministerial Challenge of the CMP in relation to its application to risk management in food safety assessments.

Presentation 2 - Occupational Health and Safety

This presentation given by Christine Norman (Director, Existing Substances Risk Assessment Bureau, Health Canada) and Tina Green (Director, Risk Management Bureau, Health Canada) described Health Canada's role in occupational health and safety, as well as the links between CMP findings and the various federal authorities related to occupational health and safety. Representatives from the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission (HMIRC) and Health Canada's National Office of Workplace Hazards Material Information System (WHMIS) were also present. The presentation included strategies for managing chemical risks in the workplace, and an overview of the following: the Hazardous Products Act, the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act, the Pest Control Products Act, Health Canada's Pest Management Regulatory Agency, WHMIS, HMRIC, controlled products regulations and the federal/provincial/territorial role in managing Canadians' occupational health and safety. The presentation concluded with an overview of the relevant programs and initiatives involved in assessing and managing the risks of chemical substances under CEPA 1999 and examples of opportunities for collaboration.

Significant discussion points from Council members following the presentation included:

• The need for improved communications between employers and workers for a clearer understanding of the actual risks associated with chemicals and their health;
• The importance of the employer's role in conveying employees' occupational health and safety-related concerns;
• Clarification of provincial-territorial and federal roles and responsibilities in occupational health and safety issues;
• Suggestions for modifying CMP Screening Assessment Reports (SARs) to better address occupational health and safety concerns.

Presentation 3 - Public Outreach

This presentation given by Tina Green (Director, Risk Management Bureau, Health Canada) focussed on the Government of Canada's CMP public outreach activities and goals, and the role of the Government of Canada in promoting the CMP to allow for better public understanding of the program and its findings.

Significant discussion points from Council members following the presentation included:

• The need for increased public confidence and clearer communication pertaining to government actions protecting health;
• The importance of proper messaging and specific wording to use when communicating with the public;
• Increased emphasis on Canada's role as a world leader in chemical safety, and progress being made under the CMP.

Presentation 4 - Industry - Lessons and Recommendations

Two presentations given by members of the CMP Stakeholder Advisory Council, Gordon Lloyd (Vice President, Technical Affairs, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada) and Amardeep Khosla (Executive Director, CEPA Industry Coordinating Group) focussed on lessons learned and recommendations for the future in relation to the Government of Canada's Chemicals Management Plan. Topics included: strategies for improving public confidence in chemical safety, relevant developments in communication, strengths and weaknesses of the CMP, lessons learned and comparisons between the CMP and international approaches.

Significant discussion points from Council members following the presentations included:

• The importance of maintaining momentum, continuity and resources for the CMP;
• Increased communication with the public on CMP activities;
• The small number of CMP Challenge chemicals being designated as "toxic", and implications/stigma surrounding the term "toxic";
• The desire to balance our actions to meet environmental and health objectives, while providing an economic advantage to industry.

Presentation 5 - Moving Forward on Medium Priorities - Additional Stakeholder Input

This presentation, given by Karen Lloyd (Director General, Safe Environments Directorate, Health Canada) focussed on stakeholder views on strategies for addressing remaining chemical priorities by 2020, including information on work plan development, toxicity information, monitoring activities and public engagement.

Significant discussion points from Council members following the presentation included:

• Strategies for engaging stakeholders;
• The importance of prioritization when planning the next phase of CMP;
• The batch outreach stakeholder notification process in relation to addressing the needs of the Inuit and those in northern communities; desire for further detail on how submissions received have impacted the process;
• Desire for the continuation of the CMP Stakeholder Advisory Panel;
• Additional items that would benefit proposals for the next phase of CMP, including synergistic and additive effects of chemicals and enhanced international communication;
• Suggestion to revise approach for non-threshold carcinogens.

Presentation 6 - Next Steps and Medium Priorities - Part I

This presentation given by Christine Norman (Director, Existing Substances Risk Assessment Bureau, Health Canada) included an overview on progress towards development of a priority-setting framework to address medium priority substances by 2020. The priority setting framework was discussed, as well as considerations for increasing effectiveness and international engagement. Proposed post-Challenge assessment activities were identified (e.g., Aromatic Azo- and Benzidine-based substances and possible groupings informed by the Domestic Substances List Inventory Update QuickStart initiative) were also presented.

Significant discussion points from Council members following the presentation included:

• Further information requested on strategies and timeframes for moving forward on Aromatic Azo- and Benzidine-based substances;
• Desire for industry engagement for upcoming priorities;
• Concern raised about application of a Rapid Screening approach;
• Examples requested for uses of aromatic Azo- and Benzidine-based products.

Presentation 7 - Next Steps and Medium Priorities - Part 2

This presentation given by David Morin (Manager, Information Management and Data Collection, Environment Canada) and Jean-François Cayer (Acting Manager, Information Management Division, Health Canada) focussed on considerations for data gathering for substances identified by Domestic Substances List (DSL) Categorization. Proposed data collection approaches, considerations for reporting requirements and potential considerations for substance selection were discussed. Preliminary responses to October 3, 2009 Notices to gather information on a cross-section of 500 substances identified by DSL Categorization were also presented.

Significant discussion points from Council members following the presentation included:

• General timeframe planned for the release of decisions;
• Potential batch releases subsequent to the completion of the first phase of CMP;
• Criteria for substance reporting requirements;
• Need for consultation with stakeholders on medium priority substances.

Closing Remarks and Agenda Items

Co-chairs stated that the next meeting is proposed for September 17, 2010 and it was suggested that a summer session could be held via teleconference or video conference if co-chairs deem it necessary. It was noted that those presentations not already distributed would be sent to members electronically following the meeting.

Suggested agenda items from some members for the September meeting included:

• Significant New Activity policy;
• CMP renewal;
• Biomonitoring results;
• CMP public outreach and communications activities.