Evidence of meeting #29 for Environment and Sustainable Development in the 41st Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was food.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
Certainly.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Thank you.
As well, Mr. Goeres, how is CCME defining and managing hazardous pharmaceutical waste?
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
We have not done any recent work in that area. We prepared, I believe in the mid-nineties, voluntary guidelines for the management of biomedical waste. Since that time, if memory serves me correctly, both the Canadian Standards Association and Health Canada have superseded those guidelines with standards and codes of practice and guidelines of their own.
As a body doing specific work in the environmental field, we have stepped away from that.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Do we have data on pharmaceuticals—this is very much related to the environment—in surface water, groundwater, and drinking water?
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
I would have to defer to my technical working groups on that.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
No, this is solid waste; this has to be part of it. Can that information be tabled with the committee?
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
I don't know what information there is. I will look for it, and if I have any I will certainly table it with the committee.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
So the last time CCME looked at pharmaceutical waste was when?
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
I wouldn't characterize it as looking at pharmaceutical waste. The last significant work we did that involved pharmaceuticals was through the development of the Canada-wide strategy for the municipal wastewater effluent, which resulted in the federal regulation you heard about, and our guidance on biosolids.
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
Gee, you would think I'd know that off the top of my head. It is on our website. I believe that was 2009-2010, but honestly I'm guessing. The federal regulation on municipal wastewater effluent I believe was promulgated last year.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Okay. When have we looked at the data for pharmaceuticals in surface, ground, and drinking water? When did we start monitoring? Who's monitoring it now? Can we have the latest data?
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
CCME does not monitor. We establish the guidelines by which the provinces, territories, and, in certain areas, the federal government do the monitoring. We establish the guidelines for a particular chemical or substance of concern, which is then the basis on which that monitoring is done.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
I appreciate that. Is this something that the environmental ministers are looking at?
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
I'm sorry. The question is....
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Is this something the environmental ministers are looking at? There are real concerns around small concentrations of endocrine disrupters, for example, having detrimental effects on aquatic species and possibly human health.
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
Yes. The council is indeed looking at all of that. I read an assessment from our technical group not too long ago specific to endocrine disrupters and trying to assess the state of the science, so that we can begin developing the guidelines and governments can begin to do the monitoring that I think you're suggesting. The assessment from the technical people, from the scientists, is that the science itself is not ready to enable us to apply that additional screen to develop the guidelines.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
Have you looked at other jurisdictions? I'm going to ask about precautionary principle, because research data is accumulating, and I think it's important to look at the adverse impacts of waste pharmaceuticals on the environment and human health.
Executive Director, Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment
Yes, in any of those discussions, the technical folks and the scientists are very conversant with the science, wherever it is coming from, and do scans all around the world.
Endocrine disrupters specifically and a number of other pharmaceuticals are on what I would call a watch-list. It's a long list of things that our technical groups are constantly reviewing and assessing so that when the time is right, which means when the science is available and when we have the ability to go at it, we will develop those guidelines.
Liberal
Kirsty Duncan Liberal Etobicoke North, ON
As a former scientist, I guess I would always err on the side of the precautionary principle, and I think there's some concerning data.
I do want to ask you, Mr. Moir—
Co-Chair, Neighbourhood Liaison Committee, Highland Creek Treatment Plant
I think biosolids are a problem where there's no happy solution for everybody, but the thing that concerns me is that one-size-fits-all is inappropriate. The environmental assessment process is supposed to weigh all the multiple different things that come to bear on the decision-making process, one of which is obviously that different communities have different perceptions.
In Highland Creek, the people are basically happy with the situation that exists at the plant. It has been operating satisfactorily for 40 years. But city council decided on its own it had a better solution in spite of the fact their own study indicated something totally different.
I just want to get across the fact that it's important to go into these issues with an open mind and listen to the scientists, listen to the health people, and listen to all the issues, and then try to make an assessment that's appropriate for each individual position.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Harold Albrecht
Thank you very much, Mr. Moir.
Thank you, Ms. Duncan.
We will move now to Madam Freeman for five minutes.
NDP
Mylène Freeman NDP Argenteuil—Papineau—Mirabel, QC
Thank you, Chair.
I would like to ask our guest from the FCM, Mr. Louie, if he could talk about the.... Actually, I have the presentation here only in French from
the Construction and Building Waste Working Group.
Since our witness from the Council of Ministers of the Environment did really point out in his presentation that two-thirds of waste is non-residential and is what really needs to be addressed, could we talk specifically about the construction, renovation, and demolition sector of solid waste? What lignes directrices are being worked on? What role do you see for the federal government?