1. Administration

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) requires the Minister of Environment to establish a National Advisory Committee (NAC) composed of one representative for each of the federal Ministers of Environment and Health, representatives from each province and territory, and six representatives of Aboriginal governments drawn from across Canada.

Established for the purpose of enabling national, cooperative action and avoiding duplication in regulatory activity among governments, the duties of the NAC include:

In addition to the duties listed above, the NAC serves as the single window into provincial and territorial governments and representatives of Aboriginal governments on offers to consult on objectives, guidelines, and codes of practice.

To carry out its duties in 2001-02, the NAC held two face-to-face meetings, four conference calls, and one workshop. Some of the federal initiatives brought to the NAC for discussion included:

The character, extent, and result of NAC involvement in such matters vary with the nature of the issue and relative priority for each jurisdiction. In the case of the Tetrachloroethylene (Use in Dry Cleaning and Reporting Requirements) Regulations, strong engagement and specific input from the NAC resulted in changes to the regulatory text to allow for the use of other wastewater treatment systems that are equal or better in performance to activated carbon. Advice from the NAC also resulted in clarity regarding the use of third-party contracting and, in general, ensured that the federal regulations would complement existing provincial and territorial regulations. On the issues of municipal wastewater effluent and road salts, the NAC established working groups to assist Environment Canada in the development of risk management options.

In addition to providing advice and comments on the issues noted above, the NAC held a workshop in conjunction with the Environmental Planning and Protection Committee under the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) to explore the links between these two fora.

The NAC also received continuous updates on the progress of other activities under the Act, including the development of proposed amendments to the polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) regulations, the proposed Sulphur in Diesel Fuel Regulations, the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI), and the categorization and screening of the Domestic Substances List (DSL).

The act allows the federal government to enter into administrative agreements with provincial and territorial governments and contains provisions to allow for administrative agreements with Aboriginal governments as well as an Aboriginal people.

The Canada-Saskatchewan Administrative Agreement, in force since September 1994, is a work-sharing arrangement covering certain provincial legislation and seven CEPA 1999 regulations related to the pulp and paper sector, ozone-depleting substances, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The agreement commits both governments to share information relating to the administration of their respective legislation to assist them in meeting statutory reporting obligations, on releases that violate the requirements of their respective legislation, and on enforcement activities including inspections and investigations.

There were no prosecutions under the regulations in 2001-02. Key results under the agreement in 2001-02 included:

Since 1994, Administrative Agreements have been in place between the province of Quebec and the Canadian government concerning the pulp and paper sector. The second agreement expired on March 31, 2000. Since that time, Environment Canada has been negotiating a renewed agreement.

The province provides a "single window" to collect data from the Quebec mills and gives this information to Environment Canada to apply its regulations. Each level of government retains full responsibility for verifying industry compliance with its respective regulatory requirements and for conducting inspections and investigations.

In 2001-02, Environment Canada studied 876 monthly or quarterly reports presented by manufacturing plants or municipalities (745 reports concerned the Fisheries Act, 131 reports concerned CEPA 1999). Environment Canada also produced monthly reports on compliance, and discussed problematic mills with Quebec. Federal enforcement officers conducted inspections at 3 plants, issued 13 warnings (11 under the Fisheries Act and 2 under CEPA 1999), and led 3 investigations on alleged infractions of the Fisheries Act.

In spring 2002, Environment Canada, together with seven other federal departments and three provincial ministries, signed the Canada-Ontario Agreement Respecting the Great Lakes Basin Ecosystem. The agreement sets out environmental priorities and specific goals and actions for the enhancement and preservation of the Basin's ecosystem. Four annexes to the agreement focus on environmental priorities that will benefit from federal-provincial cooperation and coordinated action, including the cleanup of the remaining Areas of Concern within the basin, the implementation of a series of binational lakewide management plans to address problems unique to each Great Lake, the virtual elimination and significant reduction of harmful pollutants within the basin, and improved monitoring and information management.

Related federal/provincial/territorial agreements

Developed under the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) Harmonization Accord, Canada-wide standards represent political and accountable commitments by environment ministers (except Quebec) to address environmental protection and health risk issues. The Minister's authority to sign these agreements is found under section 9 of CEPA 1999; however, the agreements represent cooperation towards a common goal, rather than a delegation of authority under CEPA 1999. Many federal actions to achieve these commitments will be taken under CEPA 1999. New standards signed during 2001-02 include:

Ministers have committed to being accountable to the public and each other by developing implementation plans to achieve the standards. Actions taken in 2001-02 on existing standards included the following:

The updated guidelines will reflect current best-available technology. Environment Canada initiated consultations on a Federal Agenda for Reducing Emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from Consumer and Commercial Products.

The act allows the use of equivalency agreements where, by Order in Council, a regulation under CEPA 1999 is declared to no longer apply in a province, a territory, or an area under the jurisdiction of an Aboriginal government that has equivalent requirements.

In December 1994, an Agreement on the Equivalency of Federal and Alberta Regulations for the Control of Toxic Substances in Alberta came into effect. This agreement recognizes that several provincial regulations are "equivalent" to CEPA 1999 regulations. Thus, the CEPA 1999 regulations governing the pulp and paper sector, secondary lead smelter releases, and vinyl chloride releases no longer apply in Alberta. The regulated industries affected by this agreement include four kraft mills, one vinyl chloride plant, and one polyvinyl chloride plant. There are no secondary lead smelters currently operating in Alberta.

Under the agreement, the province shares inspection and compliance reports and other information with Environment Canada in order to meet federal reporting obligations. Alberta Environment reported that there were no violations of their regulations in 2001-02. All four kraft mills complied with their dioxin/furan effluent limit requirements, and there were no exceedances of vinyl chloride monomer emissions at the two regulated plants.

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