Marginal note:Binding on Her Majesty

3. This Act is binding on Her Majesty in right of Canada or a province.

Marginal note:Primary objective

• 4. (1) In the administration of this Act, the Minister’s primary objective is to prevent unacceptable risks to people and the environment from the use of pest control products.

• Marginal note:Ancillary objectives

  (2) Consistent with, and in furtherance of, the primary objective, the Minister shall

  • (a) support sustainable development designed to enable the needs of the present to be met without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs;

  • (b) seek to minimize health and environmental risks posed by pest control products and encourage the development and implementation of innovative, sustainable pest management strategies by facilitating access to pest control products that pose lower risks and by other appropriate measures;

  • (c) encourage public awareness in relation to pest control products by informing the public, facilitating public access to relevant information and public participation in the decision-making process; and

  • (d) ensure that only those pest control products that are determined to be of acceptable value are approved for use in Canada.

Marginal note:Protection of future generations

4.1 For greater certainty, protection and consideration afforded to children in this Act shall also extend to future generations.

Marginal note:Establishment

• 5. (1) In carrying out duties under this Act, the Minister may establish an advisory council of persons whose interests and concerns are affected by this Act, and may specify the functions of the council and the means by which it is to perform those functions.

• Marginal note:Report to Minister

  (2) The advisory council shall give any report that it makes, including its recommendations and the reasons for them, to the Minister, who shall place it in the Register.

Marginal note:Unregistered pest control products

• 6. (1) No person shall manufacture, possess, handle, store, transport, import, distribute or use a pest control product that is not registered under this Act, except as otherwise authorized under subsection 21(5) or 41(1), any of sections 53 to 59 or the regulations.

• Marginal note:Conditions of registration

  (2) No person shall manufacture, import, export or distribute a registered pest control product unless it conforms to the conditions of registration respecting its composition and the person complies with the other conditions of registration.

• Marginal note:Packaging of pest control products

  (3) No person shall store, import, export or distribute a pest control product that is not packaged in accordance with the regulations and the conditions of registration.

• Marginal note:Defence

  (4) A person shall not be found to have contravened subsection (3) if it is established that the person reasonably believed that the pest control product was packaged in accordance with the regulations and the conditions of registration.

• Marginal note:Misuse of pest control products

  (5) No person shall handle, store, transport, use or dispose of a pest control product in a way that is inconsistent with

  • (a) the regulations; or

  • (b) if the product is registered, the directions on the label recorded in the Register, subject to the regulations.

• Marginal note:Defence

  (6) A person shall not be found to have contravened subsection (5) if it is established that the person

  • (a) reasonably believed that the directions on the label accompanying the pest control product complied with the regulations or, if the product is registered, with the directions on the label recorded in the Register; and

  • (b) handled, stored, transported, used or disposed of the product in accordance with the directions on the label accompanying it.

• Marginal note:Packaging and advertisement of pest control products

  (7) No person shall package or advertise a pest control product in a way that is false, misleading or likely to create an erroneous impression regarding its character, value, quantity, composition, safety or registration.

• Marginal note:Activities that endanger health, etc.

  (8) No person shall manufacture, possess, handle, store, transport, distribute, use or dispose of a pest control product in a way that endangers human health or safety or the environment.

• Marginal note:Offence and punishment

  (9) A person who contravenes any provision of this section is guilty of an offence and liable

  • (a) on summary conviction, to a fine of not more than $200,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than six months, or to both; or

  • (b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine of not more than $500,000 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than three years, or to both.