Minister's response to notice of objection: GDI Packaging Solutions Inc.

April 21, 2021

Richard Gubb
President
GDI Packaging Solutions Inc.
1504 Postmaster Dr
Oakville ON  L6M 2Y9

Dear Richard Gubb:

I am responding to the Notice of Objection and request to establish a Board of Review that you filed on behalf of GDI Packaging Solutions Inc. regarding the proposed Order to add plastic manufactured items to the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA). The proposed Order was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on October 10, 2020.

Subsection 332(2) of the CEPA states that any person may file a Notice of Objection requesting that a Board of Review be established. As set out in subsection 333(1) of CEPA, the mandate of a Board of Review in this instance would be to inquire into the nature and extent of the danger posed by plastic manufactured items.

I have fully and carefully considered the issues set out in your Notice of Objection. As the scientific information provided in your Notice did not raise sufficient uncertainty or doubt in the scientific considerations underlying the proposed Order to warrant the establishment of a Board of Review, I am denying your request to establish a Board of Review. The scientific considerations that underlay the proposed Order are related to the ability of macroplastics to have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity as set out in section 64 CEPA.

In your Notice of Objection, you referred to the following scientific information: that the authorship of the Science Assessment of Plastic Pollution is unknown, and does not adequately assess or quantify the scope of plastic pollution in Canada. You also indicated that the Science Assessment does not provide details on the toxicity of polymers previously assessed by the Government of Canada, and that styrene is a naturally occurring element that has been assessed as not toxic by the government. As this information is not related to the science supporting the proposed Order, I did not consider it in my decision regarding the establishment of a Board of Review.

With regard to the non-scientific issues raised in your Notice of Objection, these are being considered alongside other comments received on the proposed Order and will be addressed in the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement that is published with the final Order.

I appreciate your bringing GDI Packaging Solutions Inc.’s concerns to my attention.

Please accept my best regards.

Sincerely,

The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, P.C., M.P.