e-2758 Environment
Petition to the House of Commons
Whereas:
The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) is Canada’s main law governing pollution prevention and the management of toxic chemicals;
Scientific understanding of environmental and health risks of exposure to toxics and pollution has evolved over the past two decades and CEPA 1999 needs to be updated to address today’s sources of toxic exposure;
Too often, vulnerable and marginalized populations bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harm, yet CEPA 1999 lacks provisions to protect vulnerable populations and safeguard against environmental injustice;
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development reviewed CEPA 1999 and made 87 recommendations to strengthen and modernize the act; and
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Minister of Health are jointly mandated to “better protect people and the environment from toxins and other pollution, including by strengthening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.”
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to pass legislation to modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 without delay, to ensure (i) better control of toxic substances — notably, banning highly hazardous substances like carcinogens and reproductive toxicants, addressing cumulative effects and requiring substitution with safer alternatives, and disclosure of chemicals in products through better labelling, (ii) enforceable national air and water quality standards, (iii) protection for vulnerable populations, and (iv) recognition of the human right to a healthy environment.
Whereas:
The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA) is Canada’s main law governing pollution prevention and the management of toxic chemicals;
Scientific understanding of environmental and health risks of exposure to toxics and pollution has evolved over the past two decades and CEPA 1999 needs to be updated to address today’s sources of toxic exposure;
Too often, vulnerable and marginalized populations bear a disproportionate burden of environmental harm, yet CEPA 1999 lacks provisions to protect vulnerable populations and safeguard against environmental injustice;
The House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development reviewed CEPA 1999 and made 87 recommendations to strengthen and modernize the act; and
The Minister of Environment and Climate Change and the Minister of Health are jointly mandated to “better protect people and the environment from toxins and other pollution, including by strengthening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.”
We, the undersigned, citizens and residents of Canada, call upon the House of Commons to pass legislation to modernize the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 without delay, to ensure (i) better control of toxic substances — notably, banning highly hazardous substances like carcinogens and reproductive toxicants, addressing cumulative effects and requiring substitution with safer alternatives, and disclosure of chemicals in products through better labelling, (ii) enforceable national air and water quality standards, (iii) protection for vulnerable populations, and (iv) recognition of the human right to a healthy environment.