Canada - News

In January 2022, Cosmetic Alliance (CA) and a representative from their allied stakeholder coalition met with Health Canada (HC) officials to discuss the ban of cosmetics testing on animals in Canad...

In January 2022, Cosmetic Alliance (CA) and a representative from their allied stakeholder coalition met with Health Canada (HC) officials to discuss the ban of cosmetics testing on animals in Canada. HC is currently working on publishing a policy to end cosmetics testing on animals.

According to CA, the proposed policy is based on three points which are:

·       It should align with the ban of cosmetics animal testing in the European Union (EU).

·       It should fit and be workable within the Canadian regulatory framework.

·       It should be drafted by Health Canada.

There remains a lot of work for the government to do regarding the publication and implementation of this policy. However, it is expected that the government will want to have the initiative completed by August 2023 when the International Congress on Alternatives to Animal testing will be hosted in Canada at Niagara Falls, Ontario.

There is no universal ban on animal testing for cosmetics, however, many countries are moving in this direction. In September 2021, Mexico banned animal testing of cosmetics products, in addition to about 40 other nations. In the United States, seven states have implemented this ban while other states consider doing the same.

Transport Canada (TC) recently opened a discussion to revise Part 6 of the Transportation of Dangerous Products (TDG) and set new training requirements.  Published in the Canada Gazette Part 1 on...

Transport Canada (TC) recently opened a discussion to revise Part 6 of the Transportation of Dangerous Products (TDG) and set new training requirements. 

Published in the Canada Gazette Part 1 on 11 December 2021, the recommendations aim at providing a more grounded system for the training oversight by removing the words ‘adequately prepared’ from the TDG Regulations and inputting references to the new standard CAN/CGSB-192.3-202- Transportation of dangerous goods training, assessment, and competency.

This new move is fostered by the increasing mindfulness of the existing training provisions that do not provide a vigorous body of rules. Although most stakeholders meet or surpass the training requirements, TC inspectors have noticed that some employees need to know more about the knowledge and skills needed to do this dangerous goods transportation, despite having a valid training certificate. TDG monitoring program discovered that 55 of the 409 dangerous good incidents (that resulted in injury or death between 2014 and 2019) were ascribed to the lack of proper and adequate training.

Transport Canada has been working for quite some years on the issue. It started a targeted consultation in 2016, including more than 100 agents from government, specialists, companies, industry affiliations and training suppliers, after which there was a more firmly focused consultation with 35 of the stakeholders; and after that, there was an open online meeting. After all these came the improvement of measures and propositions for regulatory revision.

Last Update: 2022-01-26

Canada has embraced Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) directions for certain customer and commercial products, setting up the most extreme concentration...

Canada has embraced Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) directions for certain customer and commercial products, setting up the most extreme concentration limits in around 130 item categories.

Published in the Canada Journal this month, the Volatile Organic Compound Concentration Limits for Certain Items Controls will boycott the manufacture and import of products with VOCs exceeding their category-specific limits unless a permit is obtained, in an effort to diminish the arrangement of ground-level ozone.

Product types covered by them include certain:  

• automotive and household maintenance products;  
• adhesives, adhesive removers, sealants and caulks;
• personal care products;  
• other miscellaneous products.  

The VOC concentration limits will take impact on 1 January 2024 for all item categories. However, disinfectants have an extra year to comply. The regulations require manufacturers and importers of regulated products to keep certain records for at least five years, and to set out three alternative compliance options "to provide flexibility". 

Last Update: 2022-01-26

The Health and Environment Ministry of Canada has proposed a recommendation to add organic substance used in paints and six flame retardants to the country's toxic substances’ list...

The Health and Environment Ministry of Canada has proposed a recommendation to add organic substance used in paints and six flame retardants to the country's toxic substances’ list. The six flame retardants are part of a group of ten substances that the government assessed to determine whether they have any health or environmental risks. 

These substances are to be added to Schedule 1 of the Act. The ministers also released a risk management scope document for these substances in initiating discussions with stakeholders on the development of risk management actions. Furthermore, this will allow the government to put restriction on the exposure of these chemicals.  

Out of these ten, some of the six chemicals poses risk to the environment, while others enter the environment in a quantity or concentration that may cause danger to human health. These six chemicals are:  

• triphenyl phosphate (TPHP); 
• tert-butylphenyl diphenyl phosphate (BPDP); 
• bis(tert-butylphenyl) phenyl phosphate (BDMEPPP); 
• isodecyl diphenyl phosphate (IDDP); 
• isopropylated triphenyl phosphate (IPPP); and  

• triethylphosphate (TEP). 

The ministries said they are planning regulatory action to minimise wastewater releases of TPHP, BPDP, BDMEPPP, IDDP and IPPP.  Also, the government will consider regulatory and non-regulatory measures to reduce dermal exposures of children to IPPP and TEP, which can be used in mattress covers and child seats. However, there is no additional action on the other four flame retardants that were evaluated in the assessment.

Companies submitted their comments on the draft screening assessment of the flame retardant group within 60 days from 6th November 2021. The final screening assessment and the proposed risk management approach is expected to come into force in November 2022.  

Last Update: 2021-11-30

As per section 74 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health have conducted a screening assessment of Lotus ...

As per section 74 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health have conducted a screening assessment of Lotus corniculatus extract. This substance was identified as a priority for assessment, as it met the categorization criteria under subsection 73(1) of CEPA. Lotus corniculatus is a plant that is also known by the common name ‘bird's-foot trefoil’.  

The ecological risk of Lotus corniculatus extract was characterized using the ecological risk classification of organic substances (ERC), a risk-based approach that employs multiple metrics for both hazard and exposure, with weighted consideration of multiple lines of evidence for determining risk classification.  

Considering all available lines of evidence presented in this screening assessment, there is a low risk of harm to the environment from Lotus corniculatus extract. It is concluded that Lotus corniculatus extract does not meet the criteria under paragraph 64(a) or (b) of CEPA, as it is not entering the environment in a quantity, concentration or under conditions that have or may have an immediate or long-term harmful effect on the environment or its biological diversity. Also, the quantity does or may not constitute danger to the environment on which life depends. 

The general population of Canada may be exposed to Lotus corniculatus extract through the use of cosmetics, including body lotion and lip balm. 

The Government of Canada is accepting comments on the draft screening assessment for 60 days, until 13th October. 

On the 5th of  August, the Government of Canada nominated long-chain PFCAs, their salts and related compounds (also known as precursors) for consideration under the Stockholm Convention on Persis...

On the 5th of  August, the Government of Canada nominated long-chain PFCAs, their salts and related compounds (also known as precursors) for consideration under the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs). The Stockholm Convention is a multilateral treaty aimed at protecting human health and the environment by eliminating/restricting the global production and use of POP.s POPs are chemicals that: 

• remain intact in the environment for a long period of time 
• accumulate in living organisms 

• are harmful to humans and/or to the environment 
• have properties that cause them to travel long distances and become widely distributed throughout the environment 

Although long-chain PFCAs, their salts and related compounds have previously undergone a Canadian ecological screening assessment, the report concluded that long-chain PFCAs, their salts and their precursors are entering the environment at levels that are harmful to the environment. The manufacture, use, sale, offer for sale or import of long-chain PFCAs, their salts and precursors and products that contain them have been prohibited since 2016, under the Prohibition of Certain Toxic Substances Regulations, 2012 , with a limited number of exemptions. However, these substances have not been evaluated in Canada from a human health perspective. 

Human and animal toxicity data are not available for every long-chain PFCA, salt or related compound. However, considering that long-chain PFCAs have similar structures and substances with similar structures behave similarly in the body, all of these substances may be associated with similar health effects. 

Furthermore, a growing number of jurisdictions, including the United States, Australia and the European Union, are developing action plans to address the PFAS class of chemicals, including long-chain PFCAs. 

Canada’s health and environment ministries have urged the conditions on the use of phosphonic acid, P,P′-(1-hydroxydodecylidene)bis-, allowing the limited amou...

Canada’s health and environment ministries have urged the conditions on the use of phosphonic acid, P,P′-(1-hydroxydodecylidene)bis-, allowing the limited amounts of the anti-adhesive to be used in certain cosmetic products. Since the substance is toxic or capable of becoming toxic under the section 64 criteria of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) 

The ministerial conditions permit the informing entity to only use the substance to manufacture the following cosmetics at a concentration of 0.4% by weight or less: 

1. leave-on hair styling products; 
2. leave-on makeup; and 
3. rinse-off cosmetics. 

Importation is also allowed, if the substance is present in any of the three cosmetic product categories at a concentration of 0.4% by weight or less.