Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) meeting summary

2.1 Work plan updates

The updates for work plans, by theme, were as follows:

Health and Safety work plans: 3 ongoing, 3 complete

• Work continues on the Medical Devices, Globally Harmonized System for the Classification and Labelling of Chemicals, and Pesticides work plans.
• Work plans on Veterinary Drugs, Over-the-Counter Products, and Pharmaceutical and Biological Products are complete.

Natural Resources and Energy work plans: 3 ongoing, 2 complete

• Work continues on the Codes and Standards for Low Carbon Alternative Fuel Technologies in Transportation, the Energy Efficiency Reporting, and the Precursor Chemical Harmonization and Collaborative Science and Technology work plans.
• The Small Modular Reactors and Explosive Classification work plans are complete.

Agriculture work plans: 4 complete

• The Animal Health, Plant Health, Meat Inspection and Food Safety work plans are complete.

Transportation work plans: 8 complete

• Aviation Safety Regulation, Connected Vehicles, Motor Vehicle Safety Standards, Transportation of Dangerous Goods, Locomotive Emissions, Marine Safety and Security (Operational), Marine Safety and Security (Program) and Rail Safety work plans are complete.

Next steps: The RCC acknowledged the ongoing successes and discussed regulatory cooperation efforts moving forward connected to the work plans, as well as the relationships that have been built between regulators that will support ongoing dialogue. As work plan items are completed, the RCC agreed that joint close-out statements should recognize that cross-border regulatory cooperation requires continuous commitment and identify areas for ongoing collaboration.

The RCC agreed to support the work of regulators on both sides of the border in communicating the status of work plans, including completed ones.

2.2 New opportunities

In the weeks leading up to the meeting, regulators identified three potential new areas of work for future Canada-U.S. cooperation that were endorsed by the RCC:

1. Emerging Technology in Vehicles to coordinate research and joint positions for technologies such as advanced driver assistance systems, automated driving systems and cybersecurity in vehicles, and to advance a common vision for vehicle safety.
2. Electronic Logging Devices (ELDs) to share results from the Canadian rollout of third-party certification of ELDs, enabling efficient cross-border operations while ensuring the safety of everyone on the road.
3. Mutual Inspection of Veterinary Biologics Manufacturing Facility Inspection Results to mutually recognize the results of domestic inspection of manufacturing facilities conducted by the other country, reducing efforts, costs, and administrative burden on regulated parties in Canada and the U.S.

The RCC co-chairs also recognized the cooperative successes that take place outside the RCC. Regulators have and continue to cooperate informally in order to better align regulatory frameworks given our integrated economies.

2.3 Success stories and ongoing regulatory cooperation

• Health and Safety: Through the Veterinary Drugs work plan, Health Canada and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded the scope of accepted submissions for 15 new drugs and improved review timeliness and efficiency. Both countries have adopted simultaneous generic drug submission reviews as part of the current business practice, benefiting both government and industry stakeholders on both sides of the border.
• Natural Resources and Energy: Through the Small Modular Reactors work plan, the Canada Nuclear Safety Commission, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission and their U.K. counterpart signed a historic trilateral Memorandum of Cooperation on new nuclear technologies, enhancing collaboration on the assessment of advanced reactor and small modular reactor technologies.
• Agriculture: One of the key achievements of the Meat Inspection work plan is the U.S.’s recognition of Canada’s process for validating laboratory methods. As a result, the need for individual method reviews has been eliminated, reducing administrative work and costs for exporters.
• Transportation: The Rail Safety work plan between the U.S. Federal Railroad Administration and Transport Canada led to the implementation of Locomotive Voice and Voice Recorder Regulations, and new Duty and Rest Period Rules, which strengthened both countries’ regulatory efficiency in track safety and fatigue-management systems.

While the RCC is a formal mechanism to address regulatory cooperation, the Council also recognizes the cooperative successes that regulators do outside the RCC. Regulators have cooperated and continue to cooperate informally (for example, the social cost of greenhouse gases) in order to better align regulatory frameworks given our integrated economies. The RCC agreed to support the work of regulators on both sides of the border in communicating the status of work plans, including completed ones.