Share your thoughts: Proposed Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2022

From: Environment and Climate Change Canada

Current status: Closed

The proposed Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2022 were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 156, No. 20, on May 14, 2022 and are open for a 75-day public comment period ending on July 28, 2022.

The comments received during this period will be considered when developing the final Regulations.

Background

The proposed Regulations would repeal and replace the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012 (current Regulations) on the day the final Regulations come into force.

Comments and information received in response to a notice of intent and consultation document on a proposal to amend the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012 were taken into consideration in the development of the proposed Regulations. A summary of the comments received, along with how they were considered in the development of the proposed regulations, is included in the Regulatory Development section of the regulatory impact analysis statement published with the proposed regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

Key elements of the proposed Regulations

The proposed Regulations would further restrict the manufacture, use, sale and import of the following substances:

• perfluorooctane sulfonate, its salts and its precursors (PFOS)
• perfluorooctanoic acid, which has the molecular formula C₇F₁₅CO₂H, its salts and precursors (PFOA)
• long chain perfluorocarboxylic acids that have the molecular formula C_nF_2n+1CO₂H in which 8 ≤ n ≤ 20, their salts and precursors (LC-PFCAs)
• hexabromocyclododecane, which has the molecular formula C₁₂H₁₈Br₆ (HBCD)
• polybrominated diphenyl ethers, which has the molecular formula C₁₂H_(10-n)Br_nO in which 4 ≤ n ≤ 10 (PBDEs)

The proposed Regulations would also prohibit the manufacture, use, sale and import of the following substances:

• Dechlorane Plus, which has the molecular formula C₁₈H₁₂Cl₁₂ (DP)
• decabromodiphenyl ethane, which has the molecular formula C₁₄H₄Br₁₀ (DBDPE)

The proposed Regulations include a limited number of exemptions. Substance specific exemptions are being proposed that take into account technical and socio-economic factors, the demonstrated absence of suitable alternatives, consideration of the international context, and risks to the environment.

The proposed Regulations would also allow permits to be to be issued for up to three years to allow the continued manufacture and import of DP, DBDPE or HBCD, or products containing these substances.

The proposed regulatory changes are summarized in the Description section of the regulatory impact analysis statement published with the proposed Regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

The proposed Regulations would come into force six months after the publication of the final Regulations in the Canada Gazette, Part II.

Related amendments

Concurrently, the proposed Order Amending Schedule 3 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (the proposed Order) was published to amend the Export Control List (ECL). The amendments include the addition of PFOA, HBCD, PBDEs, LC-PFCAs, DP, DBDPE and the pesticide ferbam to the ECL, making their exports subject to the Export of Substances on the Export Control List Regulations. The proposed Order would come into force on the day on which the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2022 come into force.

Join in: How to participate

You are invited to review the regulatory impact analysis statement and proposed Regulations and to provide us with your comments.

To help you prepare your input, you are invited to participate in one of the webinar information sessions, one in French on June 14, 2022 and one in English on June 15, 2022. Please register by contacting us.

By email

Send an email with your ideas or comments to make yourself heard using the contact information below.

By mail

Send a letter with your ideas and input to the address in contact information below.

Please include “Comments on the proposed Regulations” in the subject line of your email or document.

Note that a person who provides the Minister of the Environment with information may also submit a request for confidentiality under section 313 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

Please read our privacy statement for this consultation.

Keep in touch

To be notified of the publication of the final Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2022 in the Canada Gazette, Part II, please ask us to be added to the distribution list.

Related information

• Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2022 [Proposed]
• Consultation document on proposed amendments to the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012 for PFOS, PFOA, LC-PFCAs, HBCD, PBDEs, DP and DBDPE (December 2018)
• Notice of intent to amend the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012
• Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012
• Share your thoughts: proposed Order Amending Schedule 3 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999

Contact us

By mail

Chemicals Management Division
Environment and Climate Change Canada
351 St. Joseph Blvd
Gatineau QC  K1A 0H3

By email

Email: interdiction-prohibition@ec.gc.ca

Environment and Climate Change Canada Inquiry Centre:
Telephone: 819-997-2800 or 1-800-668-6767 (in Canada only)