Mr. Speaker, actually, a couple of states have already banned the use of microbeads, and a third one has a proposal in the works.
Of course the role of the federal government is to work with all provinces and territories, as well as first nations, but we have a clear role to play at the federal level. It is within the purview of the federal government to define toxins. Under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, we have the responsibility to do that.
In this case, it seems pretty clear this is a toxin, and it could easily be avoided, prevented at the source through substitution. That makes the most sense. I believe and hope there is support from all parties in the House for the notion that the federal government should take action and identify microbeads as a toxin.