(OTTAWA) - Following today’s report by the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, Elizabeth May responded:
“The Commissioner's findings highlight the desperate condition of key regulators following 10 years of Harper rule,” said the Green Party Leader. "The implications for the state of Canadian environmental and human health are devastating.”
The report details major operational delays at Canada's pesticide regulator, the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) and shocking deficiencies in the work of the federal pipeline regulator, the National Energy Board.
“Conditional registration of commercially available pesticides must be subject to timely and robust review, something the PMRA is simply not doing. That so many neonicotinoids, for example, remain on the market and actively used across Canada having never undergone a proper assessment is simply unacceptable,” continued May.
“While the Harper Conservatives saw fit to expand the NEB’s mandate, today’s report highlights that the Board is unable to fulfill its most basic function – track and report deficiencies in the operation of federally regulated pipelines. Why even bother attaching conditions to pipeline approvals if the Board can only follow up in a meagre half of reported cases?”
“The way forward is clear for the new Liberal government: take concrete action to repair the damage done by C-38 and overhaul Canada’s environmental regulatory agencies. Provide greater resources to the PMRA to fulfill its legislated mandate. We must invest in the health and safety of all Canadians and protect the precious natural environment that we share.”
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For additional information or to arrange an interview, contact:
Debra Eindiguer
Debra.eindiguer@greenparty.ca
t: (613) 240-8921