Thank you.
Good morning, honourable members. My name is Gregory Kolz. I am vice-president of government affairs at CropLife Canada. I'm joined today by my colleague Émilie Bergeron, vice-president of chemistry.
Both Émilie and I were very pleased to participate in this committee's recent study on non-tariff trade barriers. We're equally happy to appear today as part of your current review of proposed biocides regulations and the potential trade impacts these may have on certain Canadian sectors.
CropLife Canada represents the Canadian manufacturers, developers and distributors of pest control and modern plant-breeding products. While our organization's primary focus is on providing tools to help farmers be more productive and more sustainable, our membership also develops products for use in a wide range of non-agricultural settings. These include urban green spaces, public health settings and transportation corridors.
Globally, biocides are sometimes classified as a type of pesticide. In some jurisdictions, the words “biocides” and “pesticides” are used interchangeably. For instance, the World Health Organization defines biocides as chemicals that “kill pests, including insects, rodents, fungi and unwanted plants”.
That said, as you heard from the government officials during your last meeting, Health Canada defines biocides as “surface sanitizers” and “disinfectants” that are regulated under separate regulations in Canada. Currently, disinfectants are regulated under the Food and Drugs Act, while surface sanitizers fall under the Pest Control Products Act.
While CropLife Canada's members do not manufacture biocides as defined in Canada, our interest in today's study is in the model this innovative regulation provides to the government in terms of how to make the regulatory system more efficient while ensuring that the same level of protection is achieved for Canadians.