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Why does Canada’s law on toxic chemicals leave out pesticides?

May 7, 2021

Pesticides harmful to people and the environment will be exempt from a proposed overhaul to Canada’s primary environmental law that will impose more stringent guidelines on most toxins.

Sweeping updates to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) announced last month will require the government to assess the cumulative health impacts of dangerous chemicals on vulnerable communities.

Yet critics say while those changes are a win for environmental justice, a legal loophole means they won’t apply to the millions of kilograms of toxic pesticides used in Canada each year.

"The average Canadian would assume that (CEPA) has to include pesticides," said Elizabeth May, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands and former Green Party leader.

"But pesticides are excluded from the act because of the existence of a pest control products act ... it really doesn't make sense that we would have toxic chemical legislation that leaves out a large category of chemicals to which Canadians are exposed."

Read the rest of the article at the National Observer: https://www.nationalobserver.com/2021/05/07/news/why-canadas-law-toxic-chemicals-misses-pesticides

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