New Substances Notification

Act: Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, c.33.
Regulation: New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers), SOR/2005-247, as amended and New Substances Notification Regulations (Organisms), SOR/2005-248, as amended.

To Whom Does This Apply?

Canadian manufacturers and importers of chemicals, polymers, bio-chemicals, bio-polymers, organisms, micro-organisms and micro-organisms other than organisms.

Eligible Activities

Manufacturing and importing of chemicals, polymers, bio-chemicals, bio-polymers, organisms, micro-organisms and micro-organisms other than organisms.

Summary

The Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) provides the federal government with authority to address substances that may become toxic on land, in water, and through all layers of the atmosphere. As part of a "cradle to grave" management approach to toxic substances, the provisions for substances new to Canada in CEPA 1999 are intended to ensure that no new substance is introduced into the Canadian marketplace before an assessment of whether it is "toxic" has been completed. "Toxic", as defined in CEPA 1999, refers to risk to human health or the environment.

Features of the new substances program include criteria for identifying "new substances", a mechanism for assessing new substances, and, when necessary, the enabling powers to implement specific controls. The New Substances Division conducts environmental risk assessments of substances that are new to Canada, including those that are biotechnology products, by implementing the New Substances Notification Regulations (Chemicals and Polymers) [NSNR (Chemicals and Polymers)] and the New Substances Notification Regulations (Organisms) [NSNR (Organisms)] of CEPA 1999.

Application Process

Applicants must submit an application with the supporting documentation (as specified in the Regulations) to the New Substances Division prior to manufacturing or importing a new substance. An applicant can request a notification form by contacting the number listed below, or by visiting the New Substances Web site.

Waiting Period

Ranging from 5 to 120 days, depending on the notification schedule submitted.

Application Fee

Ranging from $200 to $3 500, depending on the notification schedule submitted. Also, at this time, there are no fees for products of biotechnology (i.e., bio-chemicals, bio-polymers, organisms, micro-organisms and micro-organisms other than organisms).

Additional Information

For more information, consult the Guidelines for the Notification and Testing of New Substances (Chemicals and Polymers or Organisms)  available from the Environmental Protection Publications Centre or by downloading the document from the New Substances' Web site.

DISCLAIMER
Information contained in this section is of a general nature only and is not intended to constitute advice for any specific fact situation. For particular questions, the users are invited to contact their lawyer. For additional information, see contact(s) listed below.

Quebec Contact(s):
New Substances Notification Program Officer
Environmental Protection Branch
Environment Canada
4th Floor
105 McGill Street
Montréal, Quebec  M2Y 2E7
Telephone: 514-283-0245
Fax: 514-496-6982
Toll-free (information): 1-800-567-1999
E-mail: dperrsn-nsn.quebec@ec.gc.ca
Web site: http://www.ec.gc.ca/envhome.html

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National Contact(s):
Environmental Protection Publications Centre
Environment Canada
Telephone: 613-953-5921 or 613-953-5750
Fax: 819-953-7253
Web site: http://www.ec.gc.ca/envhome.html

NSN-Infoline
Notification and Client Services
New Substances Branch
Environment Canada
Place Vincent Massey
351 Saint-Joseph Boulevard
Gatineau, Quebec  K1A 0H3
Telephone: 819-953-7156
Fax: 819-953-7155
Toll-free (information): 1-800-567-1999 (In Canada)
E-mail: nsn-infoline@ec.gc.ca
Web site: http://www.ec.gc.ca/envhome.html