December 3, 2019
Pesticide Act amendments proposed by Ontario Government
The Ontario Government is proposing amendments to province’s Pesticide Act, including the removal of the Ontario Pesticide Advisory Committee (OPAC).“We are proposing to end Ontario’s duplicative classification of pesticides and align with the federal government’s pesticide categories, as other provinces do,” the Ontario Government stated in a media release. “Health Canada’s PMRA is resourced and equipped to review and register pesticides for all of Canada, something all other provinces have recognized. Ontario would continue to maintain Ontario’s general regulatory requirements, including licensing and permitting realigned to the federal categories.”
The general cosmetic pesticides ban will be retained, including existing exceptions, but a single list of permitted pesticides would replace the current classes.
“Eliminating Ontario’s classification process would also remove administrative cost and time delays associated with the application and classification process, improving the efficiency in accessing pesticides for sale and use in Ontario,” the government stated. The amendments also add cemeteries to the exception list for cosmetic pesticide use.
The comment period for the amendments was set to end on Dec. 12, 2019.