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Efforts taken under CEPA 1999 are complemented by actions taken under other federal Acts administered by the Minister of the Environment. The Fisheries Act, which is administered by the Minister of the Environment on behalf of the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, includes provisions to prevent pollution of waters inhabited by fish. Through the Canada Water Act, water resources and their environmental quality are managed. The Minister of the Environment also manages some aspects of wildlife through the Species at Risk Act, the Canada Wildlife Act, the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994, and the Wild Animal and Plant Protection and Regulation of International and Inter provincial trade Act. Efforts under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act ensure that the environmental effects of various projects are carefully reviewed before action is taken in order to avoid significant adverse environmental effects.

There are also a number of specialized Acts administered by other federal departments that are useful in protecting the environment. Several Acts are used to control, among other things, the introduction of new substances and products of biotechnology into the Canadian market so that the risk to the environment and human health is reduced. These Acts include the Pest Control Products Act, the Feeds Act, the Seeds Act, and the Health of Animals Act. In addition to the previously mentioned Fisheries Act and the Canada Water Act, the federal government also has a number of other Acts designed to protect our waters. The Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act was introduced to prevent pollution of waters in the Canadian arctic. The Oceans Act includes provisions for the protection of marine areas. Several Acts contain provisions that ensure environmentally responsible actions. Examples include the Canada Shipping Act and the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act.

Research and Monitoring -- Scientific research and development are used to evaluate the impact of substances on the environment and human health, determine the extent of exposure to contaminants, guide the development of preventive and control measures by identifying pollution prevention and technology solutions, and provide specialized sampling and analytical techniques used in compliance promotion and enforcement. Monitoring changes in the environment and in human health trends is essential for assessing the impact of toxic substances and the effectiveness of measures meant to minimize environmental damage and real and potential threats to human life. Information gathering on the use and release of substances informs understanding and decision making by governments, industry and the public.

Risk Assessment -- Substance risk assessments are based on sound science, which supports a better understanding of their impacts and exposure to the environment and human health. The assessments incorporate the precautionary principle and a weight of evidence approach. Risk assessment also helps to identify the sources of pollution that pose the greatest risk to the environment and human health. While risk assessment is the prelude to, and informs, the risk management stage for all programs under CEPA 1999, the Act provides explicit direction on the assessment of toxic substances and the assessment of wastes and other matter that are destined for disposal at sea.

Risk Management -- Based on the scientific information available, strategies are developed to determine how best to manage toxic and other substances and what kinds of actions are required. Social, economic and technology factors are integral to risk management decision making, including considering which risk management instruments are the most cost-effective. While CEPA 1999 provides for certain instruments developed under the Act such as regulations, pollution prevention plans, guidelines and codes of practice, other tools such as voluntary agreements, other Acts of Parliament or provincial/territorial actions may also be suitable to manage particular risks posed by a substance.

Compliance Promotion and Enforcement -- Compliance promotion and enforcement of CEPA 1999 and its regulations are necessary to achieve the highest level of environmental quality for all Canadians. Providing public opportunities for input to the creation of regulations and compliance promotion programs should result in a high rate of compliance. In cases of non-compliance, CEPA 1999 enforcement officers will investigate. If an alleged violation is confirmed, action will be taken using one or more of the enforcement tools available under CEPA 1999. Information gathered during the compliance promotion and enforcement stage helps to evaluate the effectiveness of controls and monitoring.

CEPA 1999 Guiding Principles

CEPA 1999 sets out several guiding principles in the preamble and embodies them in the administrative duties of the government. Key among them include:

Sustainable Development -- The Government of Canada's environmental protection strategies are driven by a vision of environmentally sustainable economic development. This vision depends on a clean, healthy environment and a strong, healthy economy that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Pollution Prevention -- CEPA 1999 shifts the focus away from managing pollution after it has been created to preventing pollution. Pollution prevention is "the use of processes, practices, materials, products, substances or energy that avoid or minimize the creation of pollutants and waste and reduce the overall risk to the environment or human health."

Virtual Elimination -- CEPA 1999 requires the virtual elimination of releases of substances that are persistent (take a long time to break down), bio accumulative (collect in living organisms and end up in the food chain), toxic (according to CEPA 1999 Section 64) and primarily the result of human activities. Virtual elimination is the reduction of releases to the environment of a substance to a level below which its release cannot be accurately measured.

Ecosystem Approach -- Based on natural geographic units rather than political boundaries, the ecosystem approach recognizes the interrelationships between land, air, water, wildlife, and human activities. It also considers environmental, social and economic elements that affect the environment as a whole.

Precautionary Principle -- The government's actions to protect the environment and health are guided by the precautionary principle, which states that "where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty shall not be used as a reason for postponing cost-effective measures to prevent environmental degradation."

Intergovernmental Cooperation -- CEPA 1999 reflects that all governments have the authority to protect the environment and directs the federal government to endeavor to act in cooperation with governments in Canada to ensure that federal actions are complementary to and avoid duplication with other governments.

National Standards -- CEPA 1999 reinforces the role of national leadership to achieve ecosystem health and sustainable development by providing for the creation of science-based, national environmental standards.

Polluter Pays Principle -- CEPA 1999 embodies the principle that users and producers of pollutants and wastes should bear the responsibility for their actions. Companies or people that pollute should pay the costs they impose on society.

Science-based Decision-Making -- CEPA 1999 emphasizes the integral role of science and traditional aboriginal knowledge (where available) in decision-making and that social, economic and technical issues are to be considered in the risk management process.

What is the Domestic Substances List?

The Domestic Substances List includes substances that were, between January 1, 1984, and December 31, 1986, in commercial use in Canada, or were used for commercial manufacturing purposes, or were manufactured in or imported into Canada in a quantity of 100 kg or more in any one calendar year. The list is regularly amended to include additional substances that have been assessed under the Act and allowed into Canada. The Domestic Substances List currently contains approximately 23 000 substances from the original list along with an additional 1954 substances that have been added to the list following assessments of new substances.

What is an Environmental Emergency?

An environmental emergency, as defined in CEPA 1999, is an uncontrolled, unplanned or accidental release of a substance into the environment or the reasonable likelihood of such a release that may affect the environment or human health. There are an estimated 20 000 environmental emergencies annually in Canada. The majority of the releases are minor and have minimal adverse impact on the environment. About 9000 emergencies get reported to Environment Canada in any given year and about 1000 of these require some form of involvement or action by Environment Canada. These incidents are primarily the result of accidents, improper maintenance or human error.

QUESTIONS

1. WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE ACT?

2. WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS DUTIES ?

3. DEFINITION OF AN "ENVIRONMENTAL EMERGENCY"

4. WHAT ARE SOME SIGNIFICANT IMPROVEMENTS FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE ENVIRONMENT OVER THE PREVIOUS ACT?

What Powers do Enforcement Officers Have?

Enforcements

What are the Principles of Enforcement?

CEPA 1999 provides the authority to designate persons or classes of persons as enforcement officers. Enforcement officers have a wide range of powers to enforce the Act, including all the powers of a peace officer. Powers include the right to:

• enter premises;

• examine any substance, product, fuel, cleaning product or water conditioner;

• open and examine the contents of any receptacle or package;

• examine any books, records, electronic data or other documents;

• take samples;

• seize evidence;

• conduct tests or take measurements;

• stop and detain conveyances such as a vehicle, ship or aircraft for the purpose of conducting an inspection; and

• use enforcement tools

New Substances

Existing Substances

Penalties for Violations

What are CEPA 1999's Penalties for Violations?

CEPA 1999 provides the authority to carry out inspections and investigations to ensure that regulations made under the Act and the Act itself are followed. Enforcement of CEPA 1999 follows the Compliance and Enforcement Policy established for the Act, which includes the following guiding principles:

• compliance with CEPA 1999 and its regulations is mandatory;

• CEPA 1999 enforcement officers will:

o apply the Act in a manner that is fair, predictable and consistent;

o use rules, sanctions and processes securely founded in law;

o administer the Act with an emphasis on prevention of damage to the environment;

o examine every suspected violation of which they have knowledge, and take action consistent with the Compliance and Enforcement Policy; and

o encourage Canadians to report CEPA 1999 violations to them.

CEPA 1999 ensures that no new substances are introduced into the Canadian marketplace before they have been assessed to determine whether or not they are toxic or capable of becoming toxic to the environment or human health. Substances that are not on the Domestic Substances List are considered to be new to Canada and must be notified. New substances that are accepted as being in commercial use internationally are listed on the Non-Domestic Substances List. Substances on the Non-Domestic Substances List must also be notified, but are subject to lesser information requirements. New substances cannot be manufactured or imported until:

  • The Minister has been notified prior to manufacturing or importation of the substance;
  • Relevant information needed for an assessment of its potential toxicity has been provided to the Minister and the appropriate fee has been paid;
  • The period for assessing the information (as set out in regulations) has expired

History

The maximum penalties include fines of up to $1 million a day for each day an offence continues, imprisonment for up to three years or both. The Act includes mandatory sentencing criteria for consideration by the courts such as the cost to remedy the damage done to the environment. Violators may also have to pay for clean-up costs or forfeit any profits earned as a result of an offence. Corporate officials can be prosecuted if they authorize, accept or participate in any violation of CEPA 1999 or its regulations.

There are currently about 23 000 substances, which can be manufactured in, imported into, or used in Canada on a commercial scale, that have not been assessed for the risks they pose to the environment or human health. These substances comprise the Domestic Substances List. Substances not on this list are considered to be new to Canada. A substance as defined under CEPA 1999 includes any distinguishable kind of organic or inorganic matter, whether animate or inanimate that is capable of being released as a single substance, an effluent, emission, waste or a mixture into the Canadian environment.

CEPA 1999 introduced more processes for assessing these substances to determine if they are toxic according to CEPA 1999. The three key assessment processes are:

  • Categorization and screening assessment of the Domestic Substances List
  • Assessment of the Priority Substances List; and
  • Review of other jurisdictions' decisions.

Originally enacted in 1988, CEPA provided a systematic approach to assess and manage chemical substances in the environment that were not addressed under existing programs. After being reviewed in the 1990s, it was replaced by the current legislation that provides new powers for health and environmental protection. It was introduced as Bill C-32 on March 12, 1998, subsequently receiving Royal Assent on September 14, 1999. The new Act came into force on March 31, 2000.

Environmental Management in Canada

How is CEPA 1999 Used to Manage Environmental Emergencies?

• warnings regarding the existence of a violation so that the alleged offender can act and return to compliance;

• directions to deal with or to prevent illegal releases of regulated substances;

• tickets for offences (e.g. failure to submit written reports);

• various orders (e.g. prohibition orders, orders to recall illegal substances or products from the marketplace, environmental protection compliance orders to put an immediate stop to illegal activity) to prevent a violation from occurring or require action to be taken;

• injunctions;

• prosecution under the authority of a Crown prosecutor; and

• environmental protection alternative measures.

When it comes to environmental emergencies, no one organization can do it all. Effective emergency response requires teamwork between governments, industry, communities and local organizations. CEPA 1999's environmental emergency provisions provide a "safety net" for the comprehensive management of environmental emergencies. Where no other federal or provincial regulations exist that adequately respond to environmental emergencies, CEPA 1999 can be used to fill these gaps to protect the environment and human health.

In Canada, each level of government has powers to protect the environment. This shared nature of environmental jurisdiction makes close cooperation among the federal, provincial, territorial and Aboriginal governments important to Canada's environmental well-being.

Within the federal government, CEPA 1999 is the primary element of the legislative framework for protecting the Canadian environment and human health. A key aspect of CEPA 1999 is the prevention and management of risks posed by toxic and other harmful substances. CEPA 1999 also manages environmental and human health impacts of products of biotechnology, marine pollution, disposal at sea, vehicle, engine and equipment emissions, fuels, hazardous wastes, environmental emergencies and other sources of pollution. The Minister of the Environment is accountable to Parliament for the administration of all of CEPA 1999. Both the Minister of the Environment and the Minister of Health jointly administer the task of assessing and managing the risks associated with toxic substances.

CEPA 1999 authorizes the government to make regulations and take non-regulatory measures to prevent, prepare for, respond to and recover from environmental emergencies. The preparation of environmental emergency plans can be required for substances that have been assessed to be toxic under CEPA 1999 and are on the List of Toxic Substances or are recommended for addition to that List. The Government also has the authority to make regulations to require that environmental emergency plans be developed for any substances prescribed in the regulations. These need not be limited to those assessed as toxic under CEPA 1999--they can be substances that are or may be hazardous to the environment or human health in an environmental emergency. Environmental Emergency Regulations, listing over 170 substances and requiring the preparation and implementation of environmental emergency plans for those substances, were made under CEPA 1999 in 2003.

Environmental Emergencies

Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999

Environmental Protection Management Process

The environmental management process used in the implementation of CEPA centres around four key activities

  • research and monitoring
  • risk assessment
  • risk management
  • compliance promotion and enforcement

Each stage of the process includes information exchange in the form of cooperation with other governments, public participation and reporting on progress.

By: Samara Randhawa (ayyyy)

ANSWER:

• enter premises;

• examine any substance, product, fuel, cleaning product or water conditioner;

• open and examine the contents of any receptacle or package;

• examine any books, records, electronic data or other documents;

• take samples;

• seize evidence;

• conduct tests or take measurements;

• stop and detain conveyances such as a vehicle, ship or aircraft for the purpose of conducting an inspection; and

• use enforcement tools

ANSWER:

Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999

***BONUS QUESTION***

ANSWER:

SAMARA RANDHAWA

WHAT IS MY NAME?

Overview

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) is an important part of Canada's federal environmental legislation aimed at preventing pollution and protecting the environment and human health. The goal of CEPA 1999 is to contribute to sustainable development - development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

ANSWER:

An environmental emergency, as defined in CEPA 1999, is an uncontrolled, unplanned or accidental release of a substance into the environment or the reasonable likelihood of such a release that may affect the environment or human health.

ANSWER:

• Makes pollution prevention the cornerstone of national efforts to reduce toxic substances in the environment

• Sets out processes to assess the risks to the environment and human health posed by substances in commerce;

• Imposes time frames for managing toxic substances;

• Provides a wide range of tools to manage toxic substances, other pollution and wastes;

• Ensures the most harmful substances are phased out or not released into the environment in any measurable quantity;

• Includes provisions to regulate vehicle, engine and equipment emissions;

• Strengthens enforcement of the Act and its regulations;

• Encourages greater citizen input into decision-making;

• Allows for more effective cooperation and partnership with other governments and Aboriginal peoples.

CEPA 1999 came into force on March 31, 2000 following an extensive Parliamentary review of the first CEPA. CEPA 1999 contains significant improvements for the protection of the environment over the previous Act. It:

  • Makes pollution prevention the cornerstone of national efforts to reduce toxic substances in the environment
  • Sets out processes to assess the risks to the environment and human health posed by substances in commerce;
  • Imposes time frames for managing toxic substances;
  • Provides a wide range of tools to manage toxic substances, other pollution and wastes;
  • Ensures the most harmful substances are phased out or not released into the environment in any measurable quantity;
  • Includes provisions to regulate vehicle, engine and equipment emissions;
  • Strengthens enforcement of the Act and its regulations;
  • Encourages greater citizen input into decision-making;
  • Allows for more effective cooperation and partnership with other governments and Aboriginal peoples.

Canadian Environmental Protection Act

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