Bill 164, Community Right to Know Act, 2007
Bill 164 pre-empts uniform national safety standards
The health and safety of consumers is of the utmost concern for retailers. From our members perspective, the top priority is to be assured the products that they sell are safe. That is why RCC and our members support the comprehensive and systematic review of chemical substances currently being undertaken by the federal government. In our view this is the first and essential step.
As part of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) review, Health Canada and Environment Canada are drawing on unprecedented resources and scientific expertise to conclusively determine the safety thresholds for over 23,000 substances currently in commercial use in Canada. Indeed, Canada is leading the world in this regard.
Under the CEPA review process, substance assessments are not limited to determining potential harm to human health. Substances are also being investigated for potential harm to the environment during their life-cycle. CEPA requires that chemical substances must be examined in a scientific and thorough way so that human health and the environment are protected.
Using the best science and investigative methods, the conclusions reached are setting new information baselines and safety levels for all substances permitted for use in Canada. By virtue of its scope, robust scientific methodologies, expertise and regulatory tools, the federal program is more comprehensive and far reaching than an Ontario provincial labeling program could be. The provincial government would have to invest significant ongoing resources to develop the needed scientific expertise to deal with the complex matters related to these issues. Health Canada and Environment Canada have the expertise and resources currently in place.
Although Bill 164 does not contain enough detail to enable stakeholders to understand how the Act would be implemented; the prospect of setting a parallel and redundant system in place in Ontario is of deep concern.
Amending the Consumer Protection Act, 2002, as Bill 164 proposes, would set a precedent that other provinces would be likely to follow resulting in a patchwork of provincial precautionary labeling regulations potentially in conflict with each other and the federal program.
Retailers run businesses that cross provincial boundaries. It is administratively costly, and in some cases, operationally unfeasible to implement different types of programs. Further, potential conflicts between Ontario labeling requirements and federal findings of safe substance levels in products would be very confusing for consumers.
We urge you to support the creation of a national set of standards designed to protect both human health and our environment from harm. The federal program is best positioned to prevent potential dangers to all Canadians and the environment by establishing uniform safety standards for the safe use of chemical substances.