LETTER

Reforming our toxics law means a healthier Canada

 

Canada’s most important law to defend the health of Canadians and ecosystems from pollution is the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), passed in 1988 and updated in 1999. A recent report from the Commons Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development, of which I am a member, sets out a roadmap to strengthen CEPA.

CEPA’s regulatory framework is weaker than the rules employed by the United States and the European Union; each year, thousands of Canadians die prematurely and millions suffer adverse health effects because of exposures to contaminants.

Toxic substances in air, food, water and products are linked to cancer, heart disease, respiratory illness, damage to children’s brains, and birth defects. The costs of pollution in Canada exceeded $35 billion in 2015.

Children, the elderly, Indigenous people, and low-income families bear an unfair share of the pollution burden. Our report recommends these populations be protected when toxic chemicals are assessed and regulated. Government should also take into account the cumulative impact of these chemicals, not the impact of a single chemical on its own.

Canada is the only industrialized country that doesn’t have national mandatory air quality standards.

Our proposals would protect all Canadians, ensure that Canadians have better access to information about the health impacts of pollution and toxic substances, enhance Canadians’ participation in government decisions on environmental quality, and provide tools to augment accountability, ensuring that CEPA is more effectively enforced.

Research indicates that the benefits of stronger pollution laws greatly outweigh the costs. By amending CEPA, we can achieve: healthier Canadians, healthy ecosystems, and a healthy economy.

William Amos, MP for Pontiac and member of the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development

Ottawa