Meeting record – February 5 and 6, 2020

Chemicals Management Plan Science Committee

Attendees

Committee members

• Miriam Diamond (Co-chair)
• Mike Rasenberg (Co-chair)
• Jon Arnot
• Niladri Basu
• Richard Becker
• Elaine Cohen Hubal
• Michelle Embry
• Weihsueh Chiu

Regrets

• Geoff Granville

Ad hoc members

• Paul Demers (Director of the Occupational Cancer Research Centre and Professor, Institute for Medical Sciences and the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto)
• Colin Murray (Senior Manager, Risk Analysis Unit, WorkSafeBC)
• Cheryl Peters (Occupational Hygienist and Epidemiologist, Department of Cancer Epidemiology and Prevention Research at Alberta Health Services and Occupational Exposures Lead, CAREX Canada)

Government of Canada officials

• David Morin (Acting Assistant Deputy Minister (ADM), Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch (HECSB), Health Canada (HC)) (Day 1; morning)
• Nicole Davidson (Director, Existing Substances Risk Assessment Bureau (ESRAB), Safe Environments Directorate (SED), HECSB, HC)
• Thomas Kruidenier (Director, Ecological Assessment Division (EAD), Science and Risk Assessment (SRA), Science and Technology Branch (STB), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC))
• Angelika Zidek (Senior Manager, ESRAB, SED, HECSB, HC)
• Sarah Vanden Hoven (Senior Science Advisor, ESRAB, SED, HECSB, HC)
• Maya Berci (Director, New Substances Assessment and Control Bureau (NSACB), SED, HECSB, HC)
• Andrew Beck (Director, Risk Management Bureau (RMB), SED, HECSB, HC) (Day 1)
• Kirsten Jacobsen (Manager, Workplace Hazardous Materials Bureau (WHMB), Consumer and Hazardous Products Safety Directorate (CHPSD), HECSB, HC)
• Heather Patterson (Manager, ESRAB, SED, HECSB, HC)
• Pat Rasmussen (Research Scientist, Environmental and Health Science Research Bureau (EHSRB), Environmental and Radiation Health Sciences Directorate (ERHSD), HECSB, HC)
• Ellen Lye (Senior Scientist, EHSRB, ERHSD, HECSB, HC)
• Lynn Berndt-Weis (Senior Science Advisor, Office of Emerging Priorities, HECSB, HC) (Day 1)
• Mark Bonnell (Senior Science Advisor, EAD, SRA, STB, ECCC) (Day 1)
• Bill Casley (Associate Director, EHSRB, ERHSD, HECSB, HC) (Mornings only)
• Boniface Koudjonou (Manager, Exposure and Biomonitoring Division, EHSRB, ERHSD, HECSB, HC) (Afternoons only)
• Tim Singer (Director General, ERHSD, HECSB, HC) (Use of Committee Input presentation only)
• Miranda MacPherson (Director, Office of Environmental Health, ERHSD, HECSB, HC) (Use of Committee Input presentation only)

Secretariat

• Julie Chouinard (Manager, ESRAB, SED, HECSB, HC)
• Roxanne Vandenbeek (Science Advisor, ESRAB, SED, HECSB, HC)
• Luc Nakashoji (Project Officer, ESRAB, SED, HECSB, HC)

External observers

(For the introduction of the topic and charge questions, and the Government of Canada presentation (items #8 - #9))

• Dave Saucier (Regional Director, Responsible Distribution Canada
• Jacques Cerf (Consultant, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada)
• Barb Mackinnon (President and CEO, New Brunswick Lung Association)
• Anne McConnell (Consultant, Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association)
• Donald Lafleur (Executive Vice President, Canadian Labour Congress)
• Rob Hoffman (Director, Government and Stakeholder Relations, Canadian Fuels Association)
• Shannon Coombs (President, Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association)
• W. Scott Thurlow (Legal Counsel & Director, Chemistry Industry Association of Canada)
• Jennifer Dipper (Manager, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety)
• Anne-Marie Besliu (Technical Specialist, Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety)
• Valerie Wolfe (Executive Director, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers)
• Kevin Hedges (Occupational Hygienist, Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers)
• Tara Peel (National Director for Health, Safety and Environment at the Canadian Labour Congress)
• Jessie Callaghan (Science Advisor, Health Canada)

Overview

The Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) Science Committee (the committee) met face-to-face on February 5 and 6, 2020. This meeting focused on considerations for identifying potential risks from exposure to chemicals in the workplace. The committee was asked a number of charge questions, including the key scientific lessons learned from international agencies regarding the protection of workers from exposure to chemicals, the types and relevance of data that could be used to inform prioritization exercises and, lastly, the principles that could help prioritize substances or sectors that have been identified to date. The meeting included presentations from core and ad hoc members identifying considerations and fundamental elements to better inform future work related to the protection of workers from exposure to chemicals in Canada.

A full day was devoted to committee member presentations and developing preliminary responses to Charge Question 1; a half-day was devoted to responding to Charge Questions 2a and 2b. Outlined below is a brief summary of the meeting.

Day 1

Agenda item #1 (Welcome/Opening remarks)

Nicole Davidson (Director, HC) provided greetings, thanked committee members for their time and efforts and indicated that she looked forward to receiving the committee report.

Agenda item #2 (Introductions)

Round table introductions of committee members and participants.

Agenda item #3 (Review of agenda)

Thomas Kruidenier (Director, ECCC) and Nicole Davidson (Director, HC) reviewed the agenda. Government officials were introduced.

Logistical items were addressed by Roxanne Vandenbeek (Secretariat, HC).

Agenda item #4 (Update to affiliations and interests)

The committee core and ad hoc members declared updates to their affiliations and interests.

Agenda item #5 (Secretariat business)

Updates were provided regarding the web postings for the previous committee report and mid-term report for the second term.

Agenda item #6 (Use of committee input on a public health approach)

Ellen Lye (Senior Scientist, HC) presented on how Government incorporated the committee's input on what foundational elements would be required to develop a roadmap to advance a public health approach to chemicals management in Canada, the subject of a previous meeting. The presentation outlined where the department had shared the summary of the deliberations, how the input has supported departmental work, and the path forward.

Agenda item #7 (Opening remarks)

David Morin (Acting ADM, HC) welcomed the committee and thanked them for their input, which helps to inform the future of chemicals management in Canada.

Agenda item #8 (Introduction of topic and charge questions)

Miriam Diamond and Mike Rasenberg (Co-chairs) introduced the charge questions.

Agenda item #9 (Presentation from Government of Canada official)

Sarah Vanden Hoven (Senior Science Advisor, HC) delivered a presentation on the charge questions, provided the committee with an overview of the Identification of Risk Assessment Priorities process, as well as the types of data and potential information sources.

Agenda items #10 and #11 (Perspectives from core and ad hoc members on topic and discussion of charge questions)

Paul Demers, Cheryl Peters and Colin Murray (ad hoc members) each gave a short presentation on their perspectives regarding the charge questions. Miriam Diamond (Co-chair) also provided a short presentation.

Committee members began preliminary discussions of the charge questions.

Agenda item #12 (Discussion on charge questions)

Committee members began in-depth discussions on Charge Question 1. Committee members engaged in productive discussions using breakout sessions (followed by session summaries) as they developed their responses to the charge questions.

Day 2

Agenda item #13 (Housekeeping items/Recap of day 1)

The Co-chairs provided a recap of day 1.

Agenda items #14 and #15 (Discussion on charge questions)

Committee members engaged in productive discussions using breakout sessions (followed by session summaries) as they developed their responses to the Charge Questions 2a and 2b.

Agenda items #16, #17 and #18 (Drafting and next steps for formulation of written report)

The committee discussed next steps for developing the report. It was agreed that the Co-chairs would provide members with a draft report for input and comment in the next few months.

Agenda items #19 and #20 (Wrap-up items and closing remarks)

Committee members were thanked for their participation.

The meeting was adjourned.