by Morinville News Staff
Effective June 1, the federal government will no longer grant new conditional registrations of pesticides, something they are heralding as an important step in improving openness and transparency in the country’s pesticide regulatory system.
The government says pesticides are registered after a rigorous scientific evaluation determines no harm to human health, future generations or the environment will result from exposure or use. However, conditional registrations, which account for 1 per cent of registrations, have been granted in the past when scientific review determines risks of a pesticide are acceptable, but that additional confirmatory information is required. These conditional registrations do not undergo public consultation until the registration is amended, renewed or converted to full registration.
“The Government of Canada is committed to making regulatory decisions that are open and transparent, which is why we have decided to discontinue the use of conditional registrations,” said Jane Philpott, Minister of Health in a Jan. 19 release.
The government says moving away from conditional registrations provides public reassurance all pesticide registration decisions get the same high level of scientific and public scrutiny.
Health Canada’s website has published a notice of intent on conditional registrations, which is open for 60-days of comment until Mar. 19. A final decision will be published once all comments have been considered at the end of the consultation.
