2. Public participation

Public participation in matters related to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) is an integral part of the uccess of the act. Part 2 outlines participation requirements under the act, such as the establishment of an environmental registry, histleblower protection, and the right to seek damages.

The CEPA Environmental Registry was launched on Environment Canada's Web site with the proclamation of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 on March 31, 2000. Since that time, ongoing efforts have been made to increase the registry's reliability and user-friendliness. The content and structure of the registry continue to evolve as new documents are added and as improvements are identified by users. To date, usage reports have indicated that the information found on the registry is useful not only to the public, but also within Environment Canada itself. The registry continues to expand to serve Canadians better and now encompasses thousands of Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 related documents and references. It has become an important source of environmental information for the public and private sectors, both nationally and internationally, and promotes greater public participation in key departmental priorities.

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 requires that the implementation of the act be reviewed every five years by parliamentary committees. To assist Canadians in developing and sharing their views on issues they believe should be addressed during the Parliamentary Committee Review of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, a new section of the Registry was developed. The CEPA Review chapter of the Registry is a collection of public information on activities related to the Parliamentary Review, and it was launched in January 2005 with an invitation for the public to participate in a series of workshops structured around a draft scoping paper on Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 related issues. As the Review of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 unfolds, additional reports and updates will be added to keep Canadians up-to-date on the progression through the four phases of the Review process: Preparations for Parliamentary Review, Review of Act by Parliamentary Committee, Government Response, and Bill Phase, if required.

Since the launch of the CEPA Environmental Registry, usage has continued to follow an upward trend. The 1,250,000 visits to the Web site during 2005-06 were more than double the total of the previous year. Throughout 2005-06, usage continued to grow to the point that, by March 2006, the number of visits per month had increased to more than 230,000, well above the yearly average of just over 100,000 visits per month.

The public was invited to comment on 11 Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999-related Notices, Orders and Regulations published in the Canada Gazette, the official newspaper of the Government of Canada. In addition, 8 environmental and health protection initiatives were posted on the CEPA Environmental Registry for stakeholder and public input. Some initiatives were also posted on various Environment Canada and Health Canada Web sites.

Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 public participation initiatives for 2005-06 as reported in the CEPA Registry

Agreements

• Notice respecting an administrative agreement between the governments of Canada and Quebec pertaining to the pulp and paper sector
• Memorandum of Understanding for environmental protection through action under CCPA Responsible Care® with the Canadian Chemical Producers' Association
• Draft Environmental Performance Agreement for refractory ceramic fibers
• Agreement respecting the Canada-wide standard for mercury emissions from coal-fired electric power generation plants. Environment Canada's response to comments received by the public was also published.

Guidelines

• Proposed residential indoor air quality guideline for formaldehyde

Pollution prevention

• Proposed notice requiring the preparation and implementation of pollution prevention plans for inorganic arsenic compounds, hexavalent chromium compounds, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans and/or hexachlorobenzene used by wood preservation facilities
• Draft notice requiring the preparation and implementation of pollution prevention plans for inorganic arsenic compounds, hexavalent chromium compounds, polychlorinated dibenzodioxins, polychlorinated dibenzofurans, and/or hexachlorobenzene used by wood preservation facilities

Regulations

• Regulations Respecting 2-butoxyethanol
• Regulations Amending the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2005 (2-methoxyethanol, pentachlorobenzene and tetrachlorobenzenes)
• Notice of intent to regulate greenhouse gas emissions by large final emitters
• Potential amendments to the Sulphur in Diesel Fuel Regulations
• Regulations Amending the On-road Vehicle and Engine Emissions Regulations
• Drafting Instructions: Cross-cutting Provisions for the Large Final Emitters Regulations
• Proposed Regulatory Provisions for the Export and Import of Non-hazardous Waste

Substances

• The recommended approach for the exchange of information with member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development regarding substances that are prohibited or substantially restricted
• Priority Substances List 1 Draft Follow-up Report on the Assessment of Chlorinated Paraffins
• Proposed Integrated Framework for the Health-related Components of Categorization of the Domestic Substances List
• Order Adding Greenhouse Gases to the Toxic Substances List (Schedule 1)
• Order to correct an inconsistency in the numbering of the Toxic Substances List (Schedule 1)