The Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food and the Minister of Health recently announced the launch of a five-year review Review of the Safe Food for Canadians Act SFCA and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations SFCR, which came fully into force on January 15, 2019. The SFCA covers a broad range of aspects relating to food and beverage safety, including grade standards, labeling and advertising, import/export and inter-provincial trade, inspection and licencing requirements for specific activities. The Review is mandated under Section 68 of the SFCA and will examine the provisions and past five years of operation of the SFCA and SFCR to determine if the legislative framework meets its objectives and if not, to assess what improvements or changes may be required.
The ability to extend a limitation period for an environmental claim is subject to considerable judicial discretion, the Court of Appeal of Alberta recently held in Paramount Resources Ltd v Grey Owl Engineering Ltd, 2024 ABCA 60. Section 218 of Alberta s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act, RSA 2000, c E-12 gives a judge discretion to extend a limitation period where the basis for the proceeding is an alleged adverse effect resulting from the alleged release of a substance into the environment. However, no extension was granted in the case of a claim for remediation costs against other alleged contributors to a pipeline spill.
Our Field Notes series is intended to provide a high-level overview of the emerging issues in the landscape of pesticides in Canada, including happenings at the Pest Management Regulatory Agency PMRA. In Part II of our Field Notes series, we provide an update on PMRA s recent and current initiatives and highlight what we expect to see from the PMRA in the coming year.
On June 7, 2023, Health Canada s Pest Management Regulatory Agency PMRA published the Regulations Amending the Pest Control Products Regulations exclusive rights and compensable data in the Canada Gazette Part II. These amendments are aimed at providing clarity with respect to the process to be followed for reliance on data during post-market reviews of pest control products in Canada.
The Government of Canada published a Draft State of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances PFAS Report” Draft Report and Risk Management Scope for Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances PFAS Risk Management Scope on May 20, 2023. The Draft Report contains a draft assessment of the potential risks of PFAS, and proposes to conclude that all substances in the class of PFAS have the potential to cause harm to the environment and human health.