Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Good morning. I don't have prepared notes this morning, because the committee indulged me and my colleagues last week. On the issue of “toxic”, my colleagues last week and now Drs. Bramley and Winfield and Professor Collins will address that today.
I am here, however, because PollutionWatch, as you know, is very concerned that the momentum from the categorization exercise needs to continue with action on not necessarily all of those 4,000 substances immediately, but on the “worst of the worst”. To clarify in response to Ms. Coombs, what we've asked for is that indeed the worst among those 4,000 are those that need to be dealt with first, and then those that are less serious can be put on the second tier. But the emphasis is that the processes of screening and then of taking action by means of regulation is, as we've heard this morning already, a long process. So you know that we acknowledge the importance and significance of the completion of categorization, but just to repeat, it is indeed just the beginning of what needs to follow before Canada should really be celebrating a great deal.
Secondly, on the issue of the in-commerce list, I would very much like to be able to review Ms. Coombs' submission and recommendations on what they would like to do with that, before giving our own specific recommendations on it. But what we would say in general is that to simply identify or to look at those substances and ask if they are better categorized as existing substances or as new substances is not an adequate way of deciding how to deal with it.
What we would recommend is that the path taken for those substances be the one that has the most binding timelines on regulating at the end of the process, but earlier than that, where there is any hint of dangerous characteristics--not hard, complete evidence, but where there's the suspicion of harm in those substances--then that process kicks in, including that there's a requirement for industry to provide more information on that substance, so the user-producer responsibility would be engaged.
So I think this committee has the opportunity, since the act is up for review, to decide on a specific process for these substances that takes the best and the most rigorous characteristics of both the existing substances and the new substances and really design a process that perhaps also could be an example to the rest of the world.
As usual, I'm pleased to take your questions. Thank you.