HESA Committee Report
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Ben
Lobb, MP Dear Mr. Lobb: I am pleased to provide you with the Government Response to the final report of the Standing Committee on Health, entitled The Statutory Review of the Pest Control Products Act, 2015, tabled in the House of Commons on April 28, 2015. The Government commends the members of the Committee, and the many witnesses who appeared before it, for their insight and commitment to ensuring that Canada continues to have a robust and science-based system for the regulation of pest control products. The Government supports the positive approach and the constructive thoughts and ideas put forth by the Committee. The Report offers many valuable perspectives on how the administration of the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA) can be further improved going forward. This Government Response outlines actions that we are already taking to continually improve Canada’s world class regulatory framework. The Committee recommended that the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) work with relevant stakeholders, including manufacturers, to encourage research on the development of new products and alternative strategies to safely control bed bugs, and review any applications received on a priority basis. The Government supports the recommendation that PMRA work with relevant stakeholders, including manufacturers, to encourage research on the development of new products and alternative strategies to safely control bed bugs, and review any application received on a priority basis. PMRA will continue to seek opportunities to encourage pesticide manufacturers and other relevant private sector organizations to conduct research on the development of new pesticides to safely control pests that are of concern to Canadians, including bed bugs. This will be achieved through outreach to key stakeholder groups, including pesticide registrants. In addition, PMRA will continue to facilitate the registration process for pesticides that control nuisance pests including:
PMRA will continue its outreach activities to inform the public on the safe use of pesticides registered for bed bugs. As part of this initiative, PMRA will continue to engage the provinces and territories to promote the importance of continued vigilance for pesticide applicators when using these types of pesticides. PMRA will also continue to monitor best management practices for bedbug control (activities, progress, implemented recommendations) in other regulatory jurisdictions. The Committee suggested that the PMRA review the use of conditions of registration to ensure that they are being used in a manner that protects the health of Canadians and their environment. The Government supports the recommendation that PMRA review the use of conditional registrations to ensure that they are being used in a manner that protects the health of Canadians and their environment. All new pesticide registrations require a pre-market approval which involves an extensive health and environmental risk assessment, and a full public consultation on the science review and the proposed decision. A “conditional registration” is granted when the scientific review determines that the risks of a pesticide are acceptable, but additional confirmatory information is sought. Additional confirmatory information required at the time of granting a conditional registration may include, for example, environmental monitoring data to confirm whether conservative assumptions made at the time of registration were correct. Since 2006, the number of conditional registrations has decreased significantly (13% of decisions in 2006-07 to 2% in 2013-14). PMRA is currently reviewing conditional registrations to reduce or eliminate their use, to clarify the requirements for approvals, and to improve the transparency of this process. The Committee also recommended that the PMRA review the openness and transparency of its processes to register pest control products with a view to ensuring that Canadians are able to provide meaningful and informed input into the decision-making process and clearly understand decisions once they are made. The Government supports the recommendation that PMRA review the openness and transparency of its processes to register pest control products with a view to ensuring that Canadians are able to provide meaningful and informed input into the decision-making process and clearly understand the decisions once they are made. The PCPA offers several different opportunities for the public to participate in the regulatory process. Under the PCPA, the public is able to provide comments on proposed major registration decisions, inspect confidential test data, request a reconsideration of a major registration decision, and also request a special review. The consultation documents are available to the public online and summarize major findings of the evaluations and the proposed regulatory decisions. This is a mandatory requirement of the PCPA prior to finalizing a major registration decision. PMRA also solicits comments on regulatory policies, directives, and guidance documents. The review of the use of conditional registrations (as per Recommendation 2) will also consider the aspect of openness and transparency of this regulatory tool. Health Canada has launched a Regulatory Transparency and Openness Framework to improve access to timely, useful and relevant information about products the Department regulates. PMRA understands that the regulatory decision documents may benefit from being presented in plain language; therefore, in order to improve clarity and transparency of decisions, PMRA is committing to review how the scientific information and processes are explained. Over the next few years, PMRA will modernize its electronic public registry as part of efforts to update its electronic infrastructures with the goal of providing the public with information in a way that is easier to use. Finally, a wide range of outreach and stakeholder engagement initiatives are being carried out to promote responsible pesticide use and increase public awareness of pesticide regulation and the scientific rigour of the risk assessment process. The Committee suggested that Health Canada move forward with a cost-recovery proposal for pesticides to modernize user fees. The Government supports the recommendation that Health Canada move forward with a cost-recovery proposal to modernize user fees. PMRA has been making progress on a revised cost recovery framework. Consultations on updating the current fee structure have been ongoing since 2010 culminating in a public consultation on the proposal in March 2014, and a formal consultation “Pre-Proposal Notice (PPN)” as required by the User Fees Act in December 2014. All concerns were addressed directly with stakeholders and as a result no independent advisory panels to resolve complaints were required. Health Canada was therefore able to move forward with a proposal to Parliament with very few changes from the PPN. On May 14, 2015 the Senate adopted the report of the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and Forestry on Health Canada's User Fee Proposal regarding pesticide cost recovery, without amendment. On May 19, 2015, pursuant to the User Fees Act, the House of Commons was deemed to have submitted a report recommending that the User Fee Proposal be approved. The Government will now consult on the proposed new fee regulations through the federal regulatory process and consideration will be given to additional investment in key areas identified through public consultation:
Finally, the Committee recommended that the PMRA continue its leadership to reduce trade irritants through international regulatory cooperation efforts such as the harmonization of MRLs and work to address other non-tariff barriers. The Government supports the recommendation that PMRA continue to contribute to the reduction of trade irritants through international regulatory cooperation efforts such as the harmonization of MRLs and work to reduce other non-tariff barriers. As noted in the Committee’s Report, PMRA has been a leader in the area of joint reviews, particularly with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and global joint reviews which involve multiple jurisdictions internationally. Joint reviews principally facilitate simultaneous registration in several countries, and increase access to new pest management tools in each country. Efficient work-sharing requires a mutual understanding of the mandate of each agency, aligned scientific approach, as well as common procedures and time frames. In addition, joint regulatory decisions also promote greater alignment of MRLs. On the global stage, PMRA is using its regulatory expertise to contribute to international food safety standards through the Codex Alimentarius Committee on Pesticides Residues of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in an effort to align food standards throughout the international community, where possible. Additionally, PMRA is working bilaterally with foreign jurisdictions to resolve regulatory differences where they create barriers to the free movement of safe, nutritious food. In support of this, Health Canada and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) have formalized an agreement to identify which pesticide-specific trade barriers are of highest priority and for PMRA to provide specialized scientific knowledge and expertise as needed to assist in resolving these market access irritants. For example, PMRA recently worked with pesticide registrants and grower groups to intervene at Codex to prevent the revocation of Codex MRLs that would have resulted in a disruption of trade in Canadian commodities. This collaboration supports the competitiveness of Canadian growers and the agri-food and agri-based products sector in a manner that proactively manages risk, and also protects the health of Canadians. Once again, I wish to express my thanks to the Committee for its extensive work on this report. The Government of Canada remains committed to improving the current pesticide regulatory system by increasing transparency and strengthening health and environmental protection for all Canadians. Sincerely, Honourable Rona Ambrose, PC, MP |