Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change of Canada speaks to reporters at the COP15 UN Biodiversity Conference in Montreal, Dec. 18, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes
The federal government is playing a dangerous game by refusing to force any company that makes or uses toxic chemicals to have a plan in place to prevent them from getting into the environment, a lawyer for the Canadian Environmental Law Association said Monday.
Joseph Castrilli said it was profoundly disappointing that Liberal and Conservative MPs voted on Monday against amending the Canadian Environmental Protection Act to make pollution prevention plans mandatory for all chemicals listed as toxic under the act.
"Do you want to live a healthy life?" he asked. "Do you want to drink water that isn't contaminated, breathe air that's not polluted or walk in fields that are not otherwise strewn within the residues of airborne hazardous substances? Then you need to take this statute seriously."
The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, or CEPA, governs how toxic chemicals are identified and managed in Canada. It is in the midst of its first update in two decades, following a mandatory review that took place in 2016 and 2017.
A bill to update the act is currently before the House of Commons environment committee, which is now considering amendments to the bill.
On Monday, the committee discussed an amendment from Green Party Leader Elizabeth May to make pollution prevention plans mandatory for all toxic substances.
There are more than 150 substances now listed as toxic under CEPA, but the legislation gives the minister discretion over whether to order a pollution prevention plan for each one.
Such an order would mean any company that manufactures or uses one of the substances would have to show how it intends to keep that substance from getting into the environment.
May, following advice from the Canadian Environmental Law Association that now dates back more than 20 years, tried to change the wording so such plans would be required in every case.
The government said no, and with Conservatives in agreement, voted down May's amendment.
John Moffet, an assistant deputy minister at Environment Canada, told the committee a pollution prevention plan is only one option to lower the risk posed by chemicals deemed to be toxic to people or the environment.
"I don't think we have any objections to the stated goal of promoting pollution prevention," Moffet said.
He said CEPA also allows the government to regulate a substance including banning it outright, "which is the most effective and powerful way to achieve pollution prevention."
He said forcing pollution prevention plans for every substance would be an "unnecessary imposition" when there are "other more stringent and immediately effective measures" available.
May said her amendment allowed some discretion for the minister to use alternatives to a pollution prevention plan, including prohibitions, as long as he explains why.
NDP MP Laurel Collins said the government's resistance is surprising.
She said the government could even include an outright ban as part of a pollution prevention plan, but by refusing to make sure every substance has a plan in place, some are falling through the cracks.
"It's seriously alarming," she said.
The Canadian Environmental Law Association said only one-sixth of the substances listed as toxic under the act have a pollution prevention plan.
Toxic spills and disposals must be reported to the federal government. The association analyzed the reports on 32 cancer-causing toxic substances, including arsenic, benzene, lead, asbestos and mercury. It found companies have done a good job reducing the amount of toxic substances leaking into the air.
In 2006, 6.2 million kilograms of those substances were reported as airborne emissions, a number that fell to 3.8 million kilograms in 2020.
But when it comes to land spills and disposals, the story is the opposite. In 2006, 110 million kilograms of those 32 substances were purposely or accidentally released into land. In 2020, that grew to 154 million kilograms
One Canadian Environmental Law Association report called the government's lack of effort to make pollution prevention mandatory akin to "playing chemical whack-a-mole with some of the most dangerous substances on earth."
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2023.
In the 2023 federal budget, the government is unveiling continued deficit spending targeted at Canadians' pocketbooks, public health care and the clean economy.
U.S President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau have announced updates on a number of cross-border issues, after a day of meetings on Parliament Hill.
More than 130,000 people have signed an e-petition calling on Canada to give transgender and non-binary people fleeing harmful laws in their home countries the right to claim asylum, but that's already possible in this country. Advocates say the popularity of the proposal shows politicians that Canadians want the government to affirm its welcoming position.
The Public Order Emergency Commission has concluded that the federal government met the threshold for invoking the Emergencies Act to bring an end to the 'Freedom Convoy' protests and blockades.
The federal government is pledging to increase health funding to Canada's provinces and territories by $196.1 billion over the next 10 years, in a long-awaited deal aimed at addressing Canada's crumbling health-care systems with $46.2 billion in new funding.
The only thing most Canadians will remember about the budget this time next week is how the booze tax increase was reduced to two per cent from six, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
Joe Biden comes for a sleepover next week to make Canada the 18th country he has visited since being sworn in as U.S. president, quite the protocol slippage from that fading, if not forgotten, tradition of Canada being the first foreign presidential pitstop, writes Don Martin in a column for CTVNews.ca.
After weeks of refusing to look further into foreign election interference, Justin Trudeau surrendered to intense pressure and appointed a 'special rapporteur' to review China's actions. In his exclusive column for CTVNews.ca, Don Martin writes this 'startling change of heart' suggests the PMO is in panic mode and reflects badly on the prime minister's decision making.
The Trudeau tipping point is within sight. The moment when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau knows he has to quit for the good of the party or the Liberals realize they can't survive re-election with him at the helm is almost upon us, Don Martin writes in an exclusive column for CTVNews.ca.
Bombshell revelations that suggest Chinese agents actively, fraudulently and successfully manipulated Canada's electoral integrity in the last two federal elections cannot be dismissed with the standard Justin Trudeau nothing-to-see-here shrug, Don Martin writes in his exclusive opinion column for CTVNews.ca.
Donald Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury, prosecutors and defense lawyers said Thursday, making him the first former U.S. president to face a criminal charge and jolting his bid to retake the White House next year.
Rogers Communications Inc's $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. cleared the last regulatory hurdle Friday.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
A Toronto man, whose neighbours vanished eight years ago and left their home completely abandoned, said he's fed up living next door to a property that is in complete disarray.
A long list of failures by Nova Scotia RCMP leadership and policing systems dominate the final report into Nova Scotia's April 2020 mass shooting.
Canada needs standardized data on violence on transit systems to help tackle issues ranging from a lack of mental health supports to eroding public trust, say researchers, citing the recent stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy at a Toronto station as the latest example of random attacks on commuters.
Gwyneth Paltrow won her court battle over a 2016 ski collision at a posh Utah ski resort after a jury decided Thursday that the movie star wasn't at fault for the crash.
This Sunday, NASA and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will announce the four astronauts that will be blasting off to fly around the moon for the Artemis II mission, one of whom will be a Canadian astronaut.
Donald Trump became the first former U.S. president to be charged with a crime, someone tried to break in to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser's residence, and the final report into Nova Scotia's 2020 mass shooting has been released. Here's what you need to know to start your day.
The bodies of six people, including one child, were found in the St. Lawrence River Thursday afternoon after an air search involving the Canadian Coast Guard, the Akwesasne Mohawk Police said.
Canada needs standardized data on violence on transit systems to help tackle issues ranging from a lack of mental health supports to eroding public trust, say researchers, citing the recent stabbing death of a 16-year-old boy at a Toronto station as the latest example of random attacks on commuters.
Four of the Vancouver police officers involved in the violent 2015 arrest of Myles Gray – which ended with the 33-year-old dying in handcuffs – claim they were directed by their union not to keep notes about what happened, in violation of department policy.
A proposed class-action lawsuit over infamous brainwashing experiments at a Montreal psychiatric hospital was before Quebec's highest court Thursday, as victims attempted to remove immunity granted to the United States government.
The federal government now expects far more Canadians with long-overdue dental needs to sign up for its insurance plan, and the health minister says that's why the estimated cost has risen by $7 billion.
A long list of failures by Nova Scotia RCMP leadership and policing systems dominate the final report into Nova Scotia's April 2020 mass shooting.
Thirty-six bodies have been found inside a well at a Hindu temple in central India after dozens of people attending a festival fell into the muddy water when its cover collapsed, officials said Friday.
The Vatican on Thursday responded to Indigenous demands and formally repudiated the 'Doctrine of Discovery,' the theories backed by 15th-century 'papal bulls' that legitimized the colonial-era seizure of Native lands and form the basis of some property law today.
Finland received the green light to join NATO when Turkiye ratified the Nordic country's membership late Thursday, becoming the last country in the 30-member Western military alliance to sign off.
Two U.S. citizens have been kidnapped in Haiti, State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel confirmed on Thursday, adding that Washington is in regular contact with Haitian authorities and will continue to work with them.
Pope Francis is expected to be discharged on Saturday from the Rome hospital where he is being treated for bronchitis as his recovery proceeds in a 'normal' way, even had pizza for dinner and will be in St. Peter's Square for Palm Sunday Mass, the Vatican said.
A Philippine coast guard commander said Friday that the tragic scenes of death his team saw aboard a gutted ferry, including bodies of adults clutching children, had moved them to tears and sparked fears other passengers could be found dead in the still-smouldering ship.
Ottawa Police are investigating an attempted break-in at the residence of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's national security adviser, the second such incident involving one of his top aides in recent months.
Gun policy comments made by then-RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucki in a contentious call to Nova Scotia RCMP officers after the mass shooting in 2020 did not amount to political interference, the Mass Casualty Commission (MCC) final report concludes.
Rogers Communications Inc's $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. cleared the last regulatory hurdle Friday.
The federal government now expects far more Canadians with long-overdue dental needs to sign up for its insurance plan, and the health minister says that's why the estimated cost has risen by $7 billion.
The B.C. government's bid to restrict the sale of diabetes drug Ozempic to prevent non-Canadian residents draining supplies was the right move and a long time coming, says Brett Skinner, founder and CEO of the Canadian Health Policy Institute.
When the doors close at night at the administration office at Yukon's Carcross Tagish First Nation, a van hits the road and drives through the communities to offer naloxone to reverse overdoses, drug testing kits, food and even a friendly face to help those struggling because of the opioid crisis.
New research suggests the classic image of a Tyrannosaurus rex with massive, sharp teeth might be wrong. A study in the journal Science suggests the teeth on a T. rex was likely covered by scaly lips and didn't stick out when its mouth was closed.
An ultramassive black hole, understood to be one of the largest ever detected, has been discovered by astronomers using a new technique.
When it comes to election misinformation on social media, Facebook takes the cake, according to a new study which found heavy Facebook users were far more likely to consume fake news than Twitter or other social media sites.
Jennifer Aniston is reportedly reflecting on 'Friends' now feeling out of step with the times.
This week, pop culture critic Richard Crouse reviews new movies: 'Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves,' 'Spinning Gold,' 'Tetris' and 'Space Oddity'
Ryan Reynolds spent the day in Ottawa as he continues his efforts to buy the Senators, meeting with officials from the city of Ottawa and the National Capital Commission and attending the Senators game.
Rogers Communications Inc's $26-billion takeover of Shaw Communications Inc. cleared the last regulatory hurdle Friday.
Corruption has long plagued Venezuela -- the OPEC nation was the fourth-most corrupt in the world in the latest rankings by Transparency International -- but those in positions of power are rarely held accountable.
Just a week after Airbnb tightened regulations for Quebec listings following a deadly fire, hosts may already be bending the rules. Airbnb now requires its hosts to provide a six-digit policy number with their listing, obtained when a tourist lodging is registered with the provincial government. But a scroll through the Airbnb website suggests users are falsifying their permit numbers to sneak past the authentication process.
In a glittering splash of luxury fashion, Dior transformed Mumbai's grand, historic Gateway of India monument into a runway laden with celebrity, beauty and craftsmanship.
On March 30, 1923, exactly 100 years ago, the world's first continuous passenger cruise ship arrived back in New York City after completing a 130-day voyage.
A new type of boat tour is gaining popularity for its sustainable approaches to cruises and destination is the goal mentality.
The parents of Reeva Steenkamp, the woman Oscar Pistorius shot dead 10 years ago, still believe he is lying about their daughter's killing and opposed the former Olympic runner's application for parole, their lawyer said Friday.
Some of the biggest names in mens' tennis are participating in the Pickleball Slam -- the latest in a series of attempts to draw eyeballs to a sport taking over courts in neighbourhoods all over while still finding its footing on television.
Marcus Stroman committed baseball's first regular-season pitch-clock violation in the third inning of the Chicago Cubs' 4-0 victory over Milwaukee on Thursday on opening day.
For nearly a year, the average used vehicle in the United States had been edging toward affordable again for millions of people. Now, with the supply of used vehicles failing to keep up with robust demand, prices are creeping up again, with signs pointing to further increases ahead.
Closing out a half century of purely gasoline-powered V12 cars going back to the brand's earliest models, Luxury Italian sports car designer Lamborghini has unveiled its first supercar with a charging port.
After claiming his 100th podium in Saudi Arabia in confusing and controversial circumstances, Fernando Alonso is looking for a better result at Sunday's Australian Grand Prix than his two third-place finishes so far this Formula One season.
