Topics
Promoting sustainable development
Environment Canada's mission is to make sustainable development a reality in Canada by helping Canadians live and prosper in an environment that needs to be respected, protected and conserved. Biotechnology simultaneously provides opportunities and risks to achieving this mission, which reflects the central challenge of sustainable development. On the one hand, biotechnology challenges existing approaches to protecting human health and the environment; as biotechnology is applied in more industrial sectors, the department needs to be aware of, and control, how the products of these new technologies impact the natural environment. On the other hand, biotechnology can provide significant environmental, economic and social benefits to Canadians; new products and processes, such as bio-fuels and phytoremediation may result in lower environmental impacts than their non-biotechnology alternatives. Biotechnology also provides new tools to help us better understand and protect our wildlife.
Environment Canada advances its mandate by helping people make responsible decisions that will sustain this country's natural heritage for the benefit of present and future generations. The department is developing knowledge on the interaction of biotechnology and ecosystems, and how to manage potential risks. Through its activities in regulation, research and development, innovation and stewardship, the department is uniquely positioned to address the risks that biotechnology may pose to the environment. Along with others, it also contributes to the base of knowledge on biotechnology and its potential impacts and uses in relation to sustainable development.
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Legislative framework
Environment Canada is guided in its work by the Department of the Environment Act. With respect to biotechnology, EC has responsibilities under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA), and the United Nations' Convention on Biological Diversity. In addition, biotechnology plays a part in helping the department to fulfill its responsibilities under the Wildlife Act and the Species at Risk Act.
CEPA 1999 requires the Government of Canada to "protect the environment, including its biological diversity, and human health, by ensuring the safe and effective use of biotechnology." Specifically, it ensures all new substances are assessed for their potential to harm human health or the environment, prior to their import or manufacture. CEPA 1999 applies, unless it has been determined that another federal act and regulations meet the requirements of CEPA. As the biotechnology sector continues to grow, this involves assessing an increasing number of the products of biotechnology.
Environment Canada's work on biotechnology - which encompasses assessment, research, policy development and international agreements - is geared towards stewardship of the environment and protection of biodiversity. The department is moving forward on four fronts to help ensure biotechnology contributes to sustainable development.
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Regulation
One of Environment Canada's primary functions in the field of biotechnology is the administration of regulations that ensure the development and application of animate products of biotechnology occurs in a manner that protects the health and safety of Canadians and the environment. The department conducts assessments and, where necessary, regulates products of biotechnology that fall under CEPA.
The New Substances Notification Regulations (NSNR) of CEPA 1999 are an integral part of Canada's strategy to prevent pollution before it occurs. Before chemicals, polymers and animate products of biotechnology are introduced into Canada through import or manufacture (and have the opportunity to reach the Canadian environment), Environment Canada is notified so it can assess whether they are potentially toxic and establish appropriate control measures. The ability to act early makes the New Substances Program an essential component of the Government of Canada's approach to responsibly manage toxic substances.
Budget 2000 invested a total of $90 million for the Canadian biotechnology regulatory system, of which $5 million over three years was provided to Environment Canada. This funding was renewed in 2003 for another three years. A portion of these funds have been used to develop a national working group to build capacity, specifically regarding biotechnology, to promote compliance with EC's NSNR regime. The department has developed an action plan to improve compliance of transgenic research and development (R&D) facilities, strengthen the language for R&D exemption, and fully implement a sectoral approach for regulating biotechnology products. Providing advisory materials regarding the action plan has resulted in the university and industry R&D community being much more aware of its regulatory obligations.
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Research and development
Environment Canada undertakes scientific studies and develops tools to identify, understand, and measure the ultimate fate and effect of animate products of biotechnology in the environment, including ecosystems, wildlife and biodiversity. Part of the department's work involves research and development to understand the potential impacts of biotechnology on the environment. Its R&D activities support the Government of Canada's regulatory development and inform its ability to protect the environment through three primary endeavours:
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Regulatory research - EMBRR
EC's Environmental Management of Biotechnology for Regulation and Research (EMBRR) program has developed new tools for consortia identification and compliance verification. Over the past three years, $400,000 has been provided for EMBRR to support the development of a number of techniques including a prototype DNA microarray to simultaneously provide a DNA fingerprint for complex arrangements of microbial products of biotechnology, and screen the product for the presence of pathogens and genetic traits such as toxin production and antibiotic resistance.
EMBRR program has also provided support for:
- the development of a microbial identification laboratory to support the enforcement for compliance verification activities of the department;
- the development of guidelines for pathogenicity and toxicity testing requirements for microbial substances under the New Substances Notification Regulations; and
- research on toxicological effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in the aquatic environment.
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Aquatic research - National Water Research Institute
Given Canada's vast supply of fresh water resources, it is important that the Government of Canada have a sound understanding of the potential impacts of GMOs and other products of biotechnology on aquatic environments, so it is in a position to make sensible decisions.
Environment Canada's National Water Research Institute (NWRI) is Canada's pre-eminent freshwater research facility. With partners in the Canadian and international science communities, NWRI conducts a comprehensive program of ecosystem-based R&D in the aquatic sciences, generating and disseminating scientific knowledge needed to resolve environmental issues of regional, national or international significance to Canada, and to sustain our natural resources and freshwater ecosystems. Specifically, it has been working in partnership with the National Research Council's Biotechnology Research Institute and the University of Guelph to explore new DNA techniques that better characterize complex arrangements of microbial products of biotechnology. Better identification allows the department to track down their sources and to investigate their environmental fate and potential effects in freshwater ecosystems.
To support the development of biotechnology in an environmentally sustainable manner, the NWRI has begun a research program in collaboration with other departments, agencies and universities. A laboratory has been equipped to do research on effects of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) in aquatic and terrestrial environments. Some of the studies include:
- An investigation to determine how long an antibiotic resistance gene contained in most GMOs can survive in the environment. Presumably, the longer the antibiotic resistance gene persists in the environment, the greater chance it could be absorbed by some bacteria, leading to potential antibiotic resistance spread.
- An investigation into the distribution of native bacteria that can take up the antibiotic resistance genes, and thereby become antibiotic resistant, to identify hotspots where the absorption is most likely to occur in the environment.
The NWRI is also collaborating with the Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre and the Canadian Wildlife Service to develop DNA-based methods to screen microbial biotechnology products and processes for the presence of potentially harmful wildlife pathogens.
Among its results, the NWRI has confirmed that genes introduced through biotechnology (e.g., those that improve herbicide tolerance) can be transferred by pollen from GM canola to its wild relatives, especially wild rapa (an economically important weed worldwide). However, further research has shown that locating the new gene on specific canola chromosomes not found in wild rapa reduces the likelihood of the gene's incorporation into the weed's chromosomes thus minimizing the gene's persistence. This information could be helpful in developing future candidate crops.
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Wildlife research - Canadian Wildlife Service
For the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) and its partners in Canada and internationally, genomics techniques are becoming increasingly important tools in a number of fields of interest including toxicology, species-at-risk recovery, and wildlife management. Examples of their application to CWS work include:
- Replacing capture-recapture studies of birds, which are useful for only a few species, with ones based on DNA collected from samples such as feathers. Information about bird migration can be used to implement international cooperative agreements.
- Doing research to discover unique sub-populations of animal species and to identify how these sub-populations contribute to the diversity of the whole species. This information can be used to better inform wildlife management practices and to plan effective recovery programs for species at risk.
- Detecting contaminant-induced effects on DNA and gene expression, which can be associated with toxic effects in wildlife. This knowledge increases the understanding of the toxic effects of environmental contaminants.
Over the past five years, CWS has also completed a variety of capacity-building projects such as a Web-based wildlife genetics primer. This primer provides CWS staff and others with the basic concepts necessary to understand how modern molecular techniques can be applied to the management and conservation of wildlife.
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Long-term effects research strategy
The Environmental Conservation Service received approximately $350,000 in funding from the CBS during the fiscal years 2002-03/2003-04 to develop an interdepartmental research strategy to determine the ecosystem effects of genetically modified organisms. The purpose of the strategy is to guide the research that will strengthen the Government of Canada's understanding of long-term and ecosystem effects of novel animate products of biotechnology, including GMOs. This research is a crucial component of Canada's responsible stewardship of biotechnology, and is an interim response to advice offered by both the Canadian Biotechnology Advisory Committee (CBAC) and the Royal Society of Canada (RSC). Both bodies advised the federal government to put into place a research program to determine long-term and ecosystem effects of these new organisms.
To support the strategy, Environment Canada commissioned a number of studies and reports to increase understanding of the present and ongoing work in this research area, including:
- a survey of Canadian research in this area
- a draft stewardship framework for genetically modified organisms, and
- a survey of international research in this area
Among other things, this work has helped to identify gaps in the Canadian system that will need to be dealt with to successfully implement a program to address ecosystem effects of new animate products of biotechnology, including genetically modified organisms.
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Innovation
The department promotes the development of stewardship tools, protocols and methodologies, as well as environmental protection applications. Environment Canada invests approximately $2 million annually towards basic and applied research in the development of bio-based solutions that detect, monitor, prevent or remediate environmental pollution, as well as provide insight into the impact of genomics on environmental quality.
EC has worked with partners to investigate the potential of plants as a viable technology for cleaning up contamination, also known as phytoremediation. The results obtained to date indicate this has the potential to be an excellent clean-up technology for the Canadian environment. Further study will be conducted to understand its potential in a variety of conditions.
For the past five years EC has commissioned studies on the opportunities and challenges of moving from a petroleum-based to a bio-based economy. It is trying to determine whether the anticipated benefits of such a transition will reduce greenhouse gases, mitigate their effects, or allow agricultural and forestry practices to adapt to changing climactic conditions both regionally and at the national level.
Biomass from the agricultural and forestry industries is expected to fuel a bio-based economy in Canada. To minimize the environmental effects associated with increased expansion in these industries, Environment Canada is developing a strategy to mitigate any adverse effects to Canada's soil and water resources, wildlife, endangered species and habitat. Fostering increased scientific capacity in the area of sustainability assessment will bolster public confidence in biotechnology and biobased products, and enable Canada to be more competitive in a global bio-based economy.
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Stewardship
To encourage public participation and action, Environment Canada leads by example in environmental stewardship and the sustainable development of biotechnology at home and internationally.
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
Environment Canada has been designated the national focal point for the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety and as such, leads in policy development and implementation of the Protocol. The Protocol is a treaty under the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity designed to address the risk to biodiversity that may be posed by the international movement of living modified organisms (LMOs). LMOs are genetically modified organisms capable of replicating and passing on their genetic material to subsequent generations. The potential benefits of products of modern biotechnology such as LMOs are widely anticipated and many people are keen to see these benefits realized. However, there are potential risks which must be recognized and managed.
Canada signed the Biosafety Protocol on April 19, 2001. The following year, Environment Canada published a set of draft regulations under CEPA 1999 that would give effect to the Cartagena Protocol once it is ratified. The Government of Canada held a public consultation process in September 2002 to solicit views from the public on the proposed regulations and about how Canada should proceed with the Protocol. The time since then has been spent addressing outstanding concerns identified by some stakeholders such as documentation requirements for commodity shipments as well as an electronic information clearinghouse. Concurrently, EC has been involved in negotiations on bilateral arrangements with importing countries that would provide stable conditions for continuing trade following the coming into force of the Protocol.
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Access and benefit-sharing
It is estimated that Canada has approximately 140,000 species that represent a potentially vast reservoir of genetic heritage and opportunity. The new bio-based economy promises opportunities for the commercial use of these resources. It is essential to take measures to ensure Canadians benefit from biotechnology and pharmaceutical innovation based on Canada's genetic resource heritage. This will be equally important to ensure Canadian innovators have access to global biodiversity for the development of new products and services, which will drive the future growth of the bio-based economy and the Canadian biotechnology sector.
Environment Canada's objective in developing benefit-sharing policies and mechanisms is to make sure they contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity, both in Canada and around the world.
The Biodiversity Convention Office has been officially designated as Canada's National Focal Point on Access and Benefit-sharing. Canada was actively involved in the drafting of the Bonn Guidelines on Access to Genetic Resources and Fair and Equitable Sharing of the Benefits Arising Out of Their Utilization, which were adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2002. Canada has also begun to take measures in support of Canadian implementation of the voluntary Bonn Guidelines.
Another important Canadian policy objective is to respect, maintain and preserve traditional knowledge of indigenous and local communities so that this ethno-botanical knowledge can be used to their benefit and to that of society at large. Canada has spent almost $700,000 over the last five years to ensure the participation of Aboriginal representatives at international meetings of the Convention on Biological Diversity and the World Intellectual Property Organization concerning traditional knowledge and genetic resources.