Chemicals Management Plan funding extended by 5 more years

Ottawa, ON – The federal government recently announced that it is extending its support for the Chemicals Management Plan (CMP) by five more years with $506 million in funding.

In making the announcement, Peter Kent, the minister of environment, noted that Environment Canada and Health Canada have spent $300 million on the program since 2006. The two departments have been working on chemical risk assessments, regulatory activities, as well as monitoring and research to ensure that existing chemicals are properly managed and risks minimized.

“We have made solid progress under the Chemicals Management Plan in addressing a significant portion of the chemicals that are believed to be in commerce and that have been identified as having potential risks to human health or the environment,” he said. “We’ve now worked through the assessment of about 1,100 chemicals on that list and will tackle close to 1,500 in the next five years. We will also ensure that new, harmful chemicals don’t enter the Canadian market.”

He also stated that a further aspect of the CMP that will be further reinforced by the renewed funding is the regulatory and enforcement framework.