The Conservative government has launched a $300-million plan to curb the use of toxic chemicals in Canada.

The plan, which will be implemented over four years, focuses on chemicals that are harmful to human health and the environment.

Industry will have to find replacements for dangerous chemicals, federal Health Minister Tony Clement says.
(CBC)

"Some chemicals are inherently dangerous and can remain so for a long time," Prime Minister Stephen Harper said Friday. "They must be carefully managed and regulated. This is what our chemical plan provides for.

"It will make Canada a world leader in the testing and regulating of chemicals used in thousands of consumer products," he said.

The government will move to prohibit chemicals known to be particularly toxic. Other chemicals will be tightly controlled.

Substances found in stain repellents and flame retardants will be affected by the new plan, as could the chemicals found in ordinary products like plastic bottles or the coating on kitchen utensils.

Health Minister Tony Clement said companies will have to look for safer substitute chemicals to use in products.

"We believe the industry can work to find a safer replacement," he said, addressing the issue of flame retardants specifically. "We don't want to create a problem while solving one."

Harper said Canadians should not be alarmed about the products in their homes and  in stores.

The chemicals in these products don't pose an immediate threat, Harper said, but some could be harmful if allowed to accumulate in the body over a long period.

"There are clearly products on the shelves today that, while they don't pose an immediate threat to human health, we are concerned, over time, they will pose a threat," Harper said.

Plan long overdue, environment group says

Rick Smith, who heads the Canadian advocacy group Environmental Defence, applauds the government's plan. He said the chemicals it targets are highly toxic and cause cancer, and are dangerous for the development of children.

"This announcement is long over due, frankly," he told CBC News. "It's a great step to bring us up to the level of the kind of programs we're already seeing around the world.

"This is a significant step forward for pollution reduction in Canada."

Smith said the United States and Europe have traditionally been better than Canada at controlling toxic pollutants.

He said ordinary consumer products, like bottles or utensils, will be affected by the plan. Industrial companies would be wise to start preparing now for chemical regulations and bans that are sure to come, Smith added.

"The signal sent to industry today is very clear. If I were them, I would get out ahead of this freight train and start taking these things out of their products before they are forced to."

Benefits include reduced health costs

Harper said the plan will be expensive, but will save taxpayers money in the long term because it will reduce health-care costs and make Canada's air and water cleaner.

Banning toxic chemicals will be expensive, but will save money over the long term, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says.
CBC

He said the plan is the first of its kind, going beyond initiatives in Europe and the United States.

Canada was already a leader when it decided last September to categorize 23,000 "legacy" chemicals, Harper said.

These chemicals were introduced to Canada in the 1980s, before the government started doing strict risk assessments of new chemicals in 1994.

Under the new plan, the government will regulate some of the legacy chemicals it has categorized.

The plan also attacks some pesticides. Clement said the government is re-evaluating 200 older types of pesticides to ensure they meet standards.

The government will also strengthen the list of contaminants under the Food and Drug Act, and is continuing with plans to make disclosure of ingredents mandatory on cosmetic labels.