CEPA

Plastic may now be considered toxic under Canada’s environmental law, but the hard work of reducing single-use plastics and improving recycling still lies ahead.

Plastic is now considered toxic under Canada’s primary environmental law — the Canadian Environmental Protection Act — the Trudeau government announced Wednesday.

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.

Canada’s most important environmental law — the Canadian Environmental Protection Act — is getting an overhaul, and taking a hard look at Canadians' exposure to toxic chemicals.

We need a new environmental protection law for a new century, and there have been many substantive recommendations from Canadians, environmental groups, industry and parliamentarians, writes Environment Minister Jonathan Wilkinson. Now is the time to get the job done.

A new law could soon see toxic chemicals, including harmful plastics, undergo more rigorous assessments aimed at better protecting vulnerable Canadians, the Trudeau government has announced.

The government has said that this listing is a “necessary regulatory step” before it can enact new rules changing how plastic products are designed, manufactured and thrown out, in order to cut down on the plastic pollution that clogs rivers and oceans.

Canada's $28-billion plastics industry has always resisted efforts to curtail production. But with the federal government proposing a ban on certain single-use items and looking to classify plastic as toxic, the pushback has grown even greater.

Environment Canada has been doing fewer inspections, investigations and prosecutions over the last five years to enforce a law protecting people from toxic chemicals and air pollution.

From our archive: National Observer spoke to several scientists about their experiences with environmental assessments on major industrial projects that got approved after their proponents submitted dubious evidence in their applications. The consultants all experienced similar pressure to overlook evidence.

Potential delays in the completion of the Keystone XL pipeline following a U.S. judge's order mean that Western Canadian oil producers could suffer current price discounts for a longer period of time, an industry spokesman says.

Any changes to Canada's laws on pollution and toxic chemicals will likely not be made until after the next federal election, said Environment and Climate Change Minister Catherine McKenna in a new letter.

When Miriam Diamond's son was a competitive gymnast, she tried to get toxic flame retardants removed from the foam blocks and landing mats her son was exposed to for 20 hours or more every week.

Federal researchers have drafted a proposal that suggests hydrogen sulfide gas, which can kill a person in high concentrations, is a non-toxic substance under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Hydrogen sulfide, also known as sour gas, can leak from the wellheads, pipes, tanks and flare stacks of the oilfields.

A parliamentary committee's proposed update of federal law to greatly improve protection against toxic substances is long overdue, says Liberal MP William Amos.