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Brief Summary of the Pest Control Product Act

The Pest Control Products Act is an enforcement act of the Canadian government to regulate the products employed for the control of pests and organic functions of plants and animals. Though, the concept of the new PCPA was introduced in December 2002, but it was only implemented on June 28, 2006, replacing a 35-year-old version. The new act is managed by Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA). The new act strengthens the efforts made toward sustainable pest management practices. Also, PCPA helps to increase the quality of Canadian products in the international market.

  1. History

    • A newly proposed Pest Control Products Act was first introduced in the House of Commons on March 12, 2002, by the Federal Health Minister Anne McLellan. However, the delay to implement this new act did not put the health of Canadians at risk because the new PCPA came into force through public policy supported by Health Canada in the late 1990s.The revised Pest Control Products Act incorporated a number of progressive changes to improve the timeliness and efficiency of regulatory processes and strengthen health and environmental protection. In addition, this new act offers better transparency and broader recognition in the Canadian regulatory system.

    Aim of the Act

    • The primary objective of the new Pest Control Products Act is to strengthen the regulatory system of the pesticides. This is achieved by enhancing the provision of transparency, taking care of the public health and environment, and providing extended protection after the registration of the pesticides. In addition, the act supports international harmonization of regulatory requirements, addresses critical pest control needs for minor use crops, rationalizes geographic zones to optimize date requirements and shortens time lines to register new pest control products.

    Product Approval

    • Every pesticide must undergo a thorough investigation before it can be manufactured, sold, imported or put to use in Canada. To determine the acceptability of a pesticide, PMRA carefully inspects all the data available and determines the optimal standards and conditions under which the pesticide should be produced and used.

    Transparency Provisions

    • The new act incorporates amendments that increase transparency and promote public participation in decision-making by the use of special reviews, consultation documents and requests for reevaluation. According to the new provision, PMRA can share all pertinent information and data about any pesticide with the public, including those collected before the approval of the product.

    Stronger Extended Protection

    • In the late 1990s, some policies established by PMRA were extended to provide greater protection to public and environmental health. The new PCPA states that all the pesticides should be reevaluated every 15 years. On failure to provide data for evaluation, PMRA has the authority to withdraw the product from the market and impose penalties. These mandatory prerequisites ensure increased protection for Canadian health.

    Benefits of the New Act

    • The new act supports and strengthens sustainable pest management measures. It provides better and safer range of pesticides to Canadian growers. Also, this gives them a competitive boost in the international market. The Pest Control Products Act also regulates the manufacture, import, sale and use of pest control products.

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