Since its reintroduction in February 2022, the bill Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act, also known as Bill S-5, has been carefully studied and reviewed; it first underwent a review by the Senate and is currently under review by the House of Commons’ Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development. The Committee has invited over 30 witnesses, ranging from various experts, organizations, and communities, to share their points of view and recommendations.

The Bill includes numerous amendments to modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) for the first time in twenty years.

In anticipation of the Bill’s passage, the federal government published a new update and backgrounder on the Bill. The backgrounder provides updates regarding the following topics contained in the Bill:

• a right to a healthy environment;
• minimizing risks to the health of vulnerable populations;
• assessing real life exposures through cumulative effects analysis;
• a stronger regime for substances that are toxic under CEPA and of the highest risk;
• supporting the shift to safer chemicals;
• a new Plan of Chemicals Management Priorities;
• increased transparency in decision making;
• reducing reliance on animal testing;
• changes to the Food and Drugs Act to strengthen the environmental risk assessment and risk management of drugs;
• enhancing mandatory labelling requirements for certain consumer products and to improving the transparency of chemical ingredients in business supply chains; and
• updating the regulatory framework for products of biotechnology.

Access the backgrounder at:

https://www.canada.ca/en/environment-climate-change/news/2023/02/update--strengthening-the-canadian-environmental-protection-act-1999-and-recognizing-a-right-to-a-healthy-environment.html

Canadian Water and Wastewater Association