Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 : Annual report to Parliament for April 2021 to March 2022

1. Introduction

Preventing pollution and protecting the environment and human health lies at the heart of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), (the Act). The Government relies on it to deliver many of the environmental and health protection programs administered by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and Health Canada (HC), such as the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP), the National Environmental Emergencies Center or the Air Quality Program. CEPA is also the legislative basis to implement several regulations and risk management instruments related to waste, disposals at sea, fuels, and emissions from vehicles, engines and equipment, as well as Canada’s obligations under numerous international environmental agreements, such as the Basel Convention and the London Protocol.

This annual report provides an overview of the activities conducted and results achieved under CEPA from April 1, 2021, to March 31, 2022 by both ECCC and HC. It responds to the statutory requirement in Section 342 of the Act to provide an annual report to Parliament on its administration and enforcement.^{Footnote 1}

1.1 CEPA management cycle

CEPA provides authority for the Government of Canada to take action on a wide range of environmental and human health risks – from chemicals, to pollution, to wastes. The Act provides a suite of instruments and measures to identify, assess and address these risks.

The steps taken to address each risk constitute a management cycle (see Figure 1). At each stage of the cycle:

• industries, individuals, interest groups and others are invited to participate in the public consultations and decision-making processes
• the Government works closely with their partners in domestic and international jurisdictions and agencies

Figure 1. The CEPA management cycle

This report provides information on all stages of the management cycle:

• Monitoring & Research (sections 2 and 7) covers the monitoring and surveillance activities that allow experts to determine levels and trends of chemicals, air pollutants and waste disposal affecting the environment and human health
• Addressing key risks: risk assessment and risk management (section 3) covers information gathering, risk assessment, and risk management for substances, air pollution and greenhouse gases, water quality, and waste
• Compliance promotion and enforcement (section 6) provides information on the planned activities undertaken to increase awareness, understanding and compliance with the Act and regulations
• Reporting programs and emission inventories (section 4) covers information on releases of pollutants and greenhouse gases
• Administration and public participation (section 5) covers stakeholder engagement and inter-jurisdictional relationships

The CEPA Registry is an accessible online source of current information relating to the Act. It gives Canadians the opportunity to learn how the federal government administers the Act and is a comprehensive source of information on a variety of CEPA-related tools, including proposed and existing policies, guidelines, codes of practice, government notices and orders, agreements, permits, and regulations. The Registry invites industries, individuals, interest groups and others to participate in the public consultations and decision-making processes that take place under the Act.

1.2 Proposed changes to CEPA

On February 9, 2022, the Government introduced Bill S-5, Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act. This Bill is consistent with the mandate given to the Minister of ECCC in December 2021 to work with the Minister of Health to provide better protection for people and the environment from toxic substances and other pollution through various means, including strengthening CEPA. Bill S-5 is almost identical to Bill C-28, which was introduced in the House of Commons on April 13, 2021 but died on the Order Paper upon dissolution of the 43rd Parliament, 2nd Session, on August 15, 2021.

Bill S-5 introduces a right to a healthy environment for the first time in a Canadian federal statute. If the Bill becomes law, the framework to implement this right would be developed with the participation of Canadians. This right would lead to strong protections for all Canadians, emphasizing the protection of populations more vulnerable to exposure to harmful chemical. If passed, the Bill would also require the development of a new plan of chemicals management priorities and would propose a new regime to manage toxic substances of highest risk. With the proposed amendments, CEPA would require that risk assessments consider real-life exposure to the cumulative effects of substances on Canadians or the environment. Proposed amendments would also lead to the creation of a new publicly available Watch List so Canadians and businesses could see which substances they may wish to avoid.