About the Revised In Commerce List (R-ICL)

Overview

The Revised In Commerce List (R-ICL) is comprised of a list of substances which were in products that were regulated under the Food and Drugs Act (F&DA) and that were in Canadian commerce between January 1, 1987, and September 13, 2001.

The R-ICL was initially posted on May 3, 2013, and was periodically revised to reflect updates and corrections. The process for nomination of substances for addition to the R-ICL closed on November 3, 2019, at which point it became known as the R-ICL static list. Some substances have since been removed from the R-ICL for various reasons.

The R-ICL tracking table can be used to identify the substances currently on the R-ICL, the substances on the 2019 static list, and the substances that have been removed from the R-ICL.

Since substances on the R-ICL are not on the DSL, they are subject to the New Substances Notification Regulations (NSNR) of CEPA. Anyone who wishes to import or manufacture a substance on the R-ICL for use in products not regulated under the F&DA must submit a notification under the NSNR (Chemicals and Polymers) or NSNR (Organisms) prior to exceeding regulatory trigger quantities specified in the NSNR. Notification under the NSNR is not currently being requested for substances on the R-ICL if they are intended solely for use in products regulated under the F&DA.

Prior to 2019, Health Canada conducted an R-ICL prioritization exercise to identify substances on the R-ICL that may require further attention. Results of this exercise and other available information on R-ICL substances have since been taken into consideration during the identification and selection of priorities for assessment under CEPA for the Plan of Priorities.

Addition of R-ICL substances to the Domestic Substances List

Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), as amended by the Strengthening Environmental Protection for a Healthier Canada Act in 2023, enables the Minister of the Environment to add R-ICL substances to the DSL, provided that they meet criteria in subsections 66.1 and 105.1 of CEPA.

Any addition of R-ICL substances to the DSL in the context of this new authority will be communicated publicly. The intent is to add R-ICL substances to the DSL in a phased manner, following review to ensure their eligibility. Consideration will be given to assessing and applying appropriate risk management measures prior to adding these substances to the DSL. Once added to the DSL, the substances are removed from the R-ICL and no longer subject to the NSNR (Chemicals and Polymers) or NSNR (Organisms).

A first batch of 656 R-ICL substances meeting eligibility criteria was added to the DSL on August 12, 2026. The R-ICL tracking table can be used to identify the substances that have been removed from the R-ICL following addition to the DSL.

Information gathering

CEPA section 71 notices were published in 2017 and 2022:

The purpose was to collect information on the commercial status and use patterns of some R-ICL substances. These mandatory notices sought information pertaining to F&DA uses only, including Canadian manufacture or import quantities, and the identity of stakeholders who manufactured or imported the substances. The information collected may be used to support decisions to remove substances from the R-ICL, to determine eligibility to add substances to the DSL, to identify and select assessment priorities for CEPA's Plan of Priorities, and to inform any future assessment of the substances.

For more information, please visit the information gathering initiatives web page.

Removal of substances from the R-ICL

From when the R-ICL was initially posted in 2013 and until CEPA was amended in 2023, substances were removed from the R-ICL for various reasons, such as:

duplication with a substance already on the DSL (that is, present on both the DSL and R-ICL)
substances which are subject to risk management actions, such as a ministerial condition
an environmental or human health concern is identified
substances with no commercial activity in Canada in products regulated under the F&DA or not supported by Canadian manufacturers or importers with information on commercial activity, which led to the removal of 602 substances from the R-ICL in 2022
substances added to the DSL following notification and assessment under the NSNR

Following CEPA amendments in 2023, substances will continue to be removed from the R-ICL once they have been added to the DSL, either following notification and assessment under the NSNR, or through subsections 66.1 and 105.1 of CEPA.

The R-ICL tracking table can be used to identify the substances that have been removed from the R-ICL and the reasons for their removal.

Contact information

For information on the R-ICL, please contact:

Environment and Climate Change Canada
Place Vincent Massey, 351 St. Joseph Blvd
Gatineau, QC K1A 0H3
Telephone: 1-800-567-1999 (in Canada) or 819-938-3232
E-mail: substances@ec.gc.ca

For information on notification under the NSNR of new substances intended for use in F&DA regulated products, please contact:

Environmental Assessment Unit
Health Canada
Ottawa, ON K1A 0K9
Telephone: 1-866-996-9913 (in Canada) or 613-948-3591
E-mail: eau-uee@hc-sc.gc.ca

Page details

2026-08-12

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