In the fall?
Evidence of meeting #13 for Public Accounts in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was health.
A recording is available from Parliament.
Evidence of meeting #13 for Public Accounts in the 40th Parliament, 3rd Session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was health.
A recording is available from Parliament.
9:25 a.m.
Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Environmental Stewardship Branch, Department of the Environment
Yes.
9:25 a.m.
Bloc
Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
So, we can expect to see the regulation in September or October?
9:30 a.m.
Acting Assistant Deputy Minister, Environmental Stewardship Branch, Department of the Environment
Yes.
9:30 a.m.
Bloc
Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
In your statement this morning, you said that Health Canada will have assessed 200 of the highest priority substances by 2011. I imagine you already have specific measures in mind.
Can you give us an idea of what you have found, and what steps you are planning to take based on your observations?
9:30 a.m.
Deputy Minister, Department of Health
Thank you for your question.
We have, as I mentioned, undertaken this work. It has resulted in some chemicals having been declared to need further work and further risk management plans; in other cases, that was found not to be the case. I will ask my colleague, Karen Lloyd, who is the director general of the safe environments directorate, to speak further to some of the details of the findings on those chemicals.
May 6th, 2010 / 9:30 a.m.
Karen Lloyd Director General, Safe Environments Directorate, Department of Health
Thank you.
To respond, concerning the 200 high-priority chemicals we're currently assessing, the way the process works is that we do the risk assessment, we consult on it, and we conclude on the risk assessment. When the assessments come out, we then start the conversations with stakeholders on steps we would take to manage the risks. Now that the final assessments are coming out, we're getting into serious discussions of what to do with most of them. The only one that action has been firmly taken on so far is the bisphenol A, with a ban of the baby bottles. All of the others are still under discussion.
Many of them, if they are used in cosmetic products, will be added to the cosmetic ingredient hot list, so that they'll be prohibited, or certain uses of that substance will be prohibited, in cosmetics. In the case of others, we're using a control that would mean the substance could not come back into Canada for any future uses or in any greater volumes without informing us of that, so that we can assess the use so that exposure to the chemicals does not increase over time. In other cases, regulations will be developed to decrease releases into the environment.
9:30 a.m.
Bloc
9:30 a.m.
Director General, Safe Environments Directorate, Department of Health
Well, there have been several. There have been several—
9:30 a.m.
Bloc
Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
Well, at least one of the 200 substances you have assessed this year.
9:30 a.m.
Director General, Safe Environments Directorate, Department of Health
That's right.
Bisphenol A is—
9:30 a.m.
Director General, Safe Environments Directorate, Department of Health
There has been bisphenol A, there have been a few phthalates, there have been several siloxanes....
9:30 a.m.
Bloc
Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
If you cannot name them right now, perhaps you could forward a list to us.
9:30 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Shawn Murphy
We'll come back to him in a minute, but I want to clarify the undertaking. You are going to get a list of the ones that you have analyzed and present it to the committee, is that correct? Is two weeks...?
9:30 a.m.
Director General, Safe Environments Directorate, Department of Health
Yes, that's right, and all of that information is on our website.
9:30 a.m.
George Enei Director General, Sciences and Risk Assessment, Department of the Environment
Thank you Mr. Chair. I was going to reinforce the message that Karen Lloyd has just indicated: the information is available on our website.
The 200 chemicals are generally a cross-section of pigments, dyes, and surfactants. They're used in a multitude of sectors as lubricants, in cosmetics, and personal care products, the full gamut, if you will, of what society needs on a daily basis. Those chemicals are being processed, if you will, through the CEPA life cycle that Cynthia Wright mentioned earlier in terms of proceeding through assessment. If there is a concern identified, they move into the risk management stage.
9:30 a.m.
Bloc
Meili Faille Bloc Vaudreuil—Soulanges, QC
You can provide me with all the details and names of the substances, because I am a chemical engineer by training. I am well acquainted with them.
Do I have any time left?
9:30 a.m.
Liberal
The Chair Liberal Shawn Murphy
No. I'm sorry. Your time is up.
Merci, Madame Faille.
Mr. Christopherson, go ahead for seven minutes, please.
9:30 a.m.
NDP
David Christopherson NDP Hamilton Centre, ON
Thank you very much, Chair.
Thanks to all of you for your attendance.
Commissioner, I have a question process-wise. I'm unclear.... The environment committee...do they hold similar hearings on your chapters, like we do?
9:30 a.m.
Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Office of the Auditor General of Canada
Well, I've been here for two years now, and so far, no. We're looking forward to them doing similar work to this. Just to underscore, we're extremely grateful and pleased to be here to provide this type of management oversight on the questions that we raise in our chapters.