Government of Canada Announces Further Action to Reduce Smog Causing Emissions

OTTAWA, August 2, 2002 - The Honourable David Anderson, Minister of the Environment and the Honourable Anne McLellan, Minister of Health, are taking further steps to improve air quality and the health of Canadians. Recommendations were published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on Saturday, July 27, 2002, to declare particulate matter and ozone toxic substances under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA, 1999)

"PM₁₀ and ozone, which make up smog, contribute to thousands of premature deaths per year across the country, increased hospital and doctor visits and hundreds of thousands of lost days at work and at school," said Minister Anderson. "By recommending that we declare these substances toxic, we will be taking the first step to effectively reducing their emission levels and improving the quality of the air we breathe."

"The Government of Canada is committed to protecting the health of Canadians now and for future generations," said Minister McLellan. "One way we can do this is to reduce the man-made levels of the substances that form smog. This reduction will make the air cleaner and healthier."

The draft order recommends that the precursors to PM₁₀ (particulate matter less than or equal to 10 microns in size) and ozone, and its precursors, be added to Schedule 1, the List of Toxic Substances, of the CEPA 1999. The precursors to PM₁₀ are sulphur dioxide, nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, gaseous ammonia and volatile organic compounds. The precursors to ozone are nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide and volatile organic compounds. This publication will begin a 60-day public comment period.

By proposing to add PM₁₀ precursors and ozone and its precursors to the List of Toxic Substances of CEPA 1999, the Government of Canada is moving to put in place the legal backing to take action to meet domestic and international commitments on clean air, such as the Canada-wide Standards for PM and ozone. The Government of Canada is committed to working with provinces and territories to meet the Canada-wide Standards.

In December 2000, the Canada-US Ozone Annex to the 1991 Air Quality Agreement was signed in Washington to reduce transboundary ozone in eastern Canada and United States. The agreement committed both countries to measures that will reduce emissions of the ozone precursor emissions of nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds.

This action is the latest step in the Government of Canada's Clean Air Plan which also includes working with industry on emission reductions through its Vehicles, Small Engines & Fuels Agenda, industrial and product control measures in its Interim Plan 2001 on PM and Ozone, and joint actions with provinces and territories to implement the PM and Ozone Canada-wide Standards.

Related documents:

• Precursors to PM₁₀ and Ozone And Its Precursors - [Backgrounder, 2002-08-02]
• Scientific Foundation - Precursors to PM₁₀ And Ozone And Its Precursors - [Backgrounder, 2002-08-02]