Pest Control Products Act (S.C. 2002, c. 28)

Registration of Pest Control Products

Applications for Registration or Amendment

Marginal note:Application to Minister

• 7 (1) An application to register a pest control product or to amend the product’s registration must be made to the Minister in the form and manner directed by the Minister and must include any information or other thing that is required by the regulations to accompany the application.

• Marginal note:Use of information provided by registrants

  (2) If the Minister determines that the active ingredient of the applicant’s pest control product is equivalent to the active ingredient of a registered pest control product, the Minister shall, subject to and in accordance with the regulations, permit the applicant to use or rely on any information referred to in subsection (1) that has been provided by any registrant if the Minister is satisfied that the information

  • (a) is relevant to the registered pest control product that contains the equivalent active ingredient; and

  • (b) is necessary to support the application.

• Marginal note:Foreign review or evaluation

  (2.1) For the purposes of subsection (1), the applicant may include information that is available from a review or evaluation of a pest control product conducted by the government of another member country of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development if the proposed use of the pest control product in Canada would be under conditions similar to those under which the foreign review or evaluation was conducted.

• Marginal note:Evaluation of pest control product

  (3) If the Minister is satisfied that the application has been made in accordance with subsection (1), (2) or (2.1), the Minister shall

  • (a) in accordance with the regulations, if any, conduct any evaluations that the Minister considers necessary with respect to the health or environmental risks or the value of the pest control product;

  • (b) expedite evaluations with respect to a pest control product that may reasonably be expected to pose lower health or environmental risks; and

  • (c) carry out any consultation required by section 28.

• Marginal note:Other information

  (4) The Minister may, by delivering a notice in writing, request an applicant to provide the Minister with other information in support of the application within the time and in the form specified in the notice.

• Marginal note:Denial of application

  (5) The Minister shall deny an application if the applicant does not comply with a notice under subsection (4).

• Marginal note:Burden of persuasion and consideration of information

  (6) During an evaluation,

  • (a) the applicant has the burden of persuading the Minister that the health and environmental risks and the value of the pest control product are acceptable; and

  • (b) the Minister shall consider the information provided by the applicant in support of the application and may consider additional information, but the Minister shall give the applicant a reasonable opportunity to make representations in respect of the additional information before completing the evaluation.

• Marginal note:Scientific approach

  (7) In evaluating the health and environmental risks of a pest control product and in determining whether those risks are acceptable, the Minister shall

  • (a) apply a scientifically based approach; and

  • (b) in relation to health risks, if a decision referred to in paragraph 28(1)(a) or (b) is being made or has been made in relation to a pest control product,

    • (i) among other relevant factors, consider available information on aggregate exposure to the pest control product, namely dietary exposure and exposure from other non-occupational sources, including drinking water and use in and around homes and schools, and cumulative effects of the pest control product and other pest control products that have a common mechanism of toxicity,

    • (ii) apply appropriate margins of safety to take into account, among other relevant factors, the use of animal experimentation data and the different sensitivities to pest control products of major identifiable subgroups, including pregnant women, infants, children, women and seniors, and

    • (iii) in the case of a threshold effect, if the product is proposed for use in or around homes or schools, apply a margin of safety that is ten times greater than the margin of safety that would otherwise be applicable under subparagraph (ii) in respect of that threshold effect, to take into account potential pre- and post-natal toxicity and completeness of the data with respect to the exposure of, and toxicity to, infants and children unless, on the basis of reliable scientific data, the Minister has determined that a different margin of safety would be appropriate.

• Marginal note:Government policy to be given effect in evaluation

  (8) In evaluating the health and environmental risks and the value of a pest control product, the Minister shall give effect to government policy.

• Marginal note:Comparative risk and value assessment

  (9) In determining whether the health and environmental risks and the value of a pest control product are acceptable, the Minister may, in accordance with the regulations, if any, take into account information regarding the risks and value of other pest control products that are registered for the same use.

• Marginal note:Representations

  (10) For the purposes of subsection (9), the Minister shall, before making the determination, give the applicant a reasonable opportunity to make representations in respect of the information referred to in that subsection.

Marginal note:Registration or amendment

• 8 (1) If the Minister considers that the health and environmental risks and the value of the pest control product are acceptable after any required evaluations and consultations have been completed, the Minister shall register the product or amend its registration in accordance with the regulations, if any, by

  • (a) specifying the conditions relating to its manufacture, handling, storage, transport, import, export, packaging, distribution, use or disposition, including conditions relating to its composition, and, subject to subsection (2), the conditions relating to its label;

  • (b) assigning a registration number to the product in the case of a new registration and, where the Minister considers it appropriate, in the case of an amendment; and

  • (c) specifying the period for which the registration or amended registration is valid, which period may be either finite or indefinite.

• Marginal note:Conditions relating to label

  (2) The Minister may specify conditions relating to the label of a pest control product, otherwise than in accordance with the regulations, if the Minister is satisfied that the purposes of this Act can be met by so doing.

• (3) [Repealed, 2016, c. 9, ss. 36(2), (3)]

• Marginal note:Denial of application

  (4) The Minister shall deny an application referred to in subsection 7(1) if the Minister does not consider that the health or environmental risks of a pest control product are, or its value is, acceptable.

• Marginal note:Product safety information

  (4.1) Subject to the regulations and as a condition of registration, the registrant of a pest control product shall,

  • (a) provide, in accordance with the regulations, to workplaces where the pest control product is manufactured, handled, stored or used, product safety information that complies with the prescribed requirements; or

  • (b) make available, in accordance with the regulations, to persons who manufacture, handle, store or use the pest control product, product safety information that complies with the prescribed requirements.

• Marginal note:Sales data

  (5) A registrant of a pest control product shall, as a condition of registration, record, retain and report to the Minister information on sales of the product in the form and manner directed by the Minister and in accordance with the regulations made under paragraph 67(1)(u).

• Marginal note:Former registrants

  (6) The obligation under subsection (5) to retain and report sales information in respect of a pest control product continues to apply to a former registrant after that product ceases to be registered.

Emergency Orders

Marginal note:Seriously detrimental infestation — amendment of registration

• 8.1 (1) After the Minister has denied an application under subsection 8(4) to amend the registration of a pest control product to permit its use in the emergency control of a seriously detrimental infestation because the Minister does not consider that the environmental risks of the pest control product are acceptable, the Governor in Council may, by order, amend the registration of that product to permit that use in the emergency control of a seriously detrimental infestation if the Governor in Council considers it necessary to do so to protect national economic security, regional economic security or national food security.

• Marginal note:Seriously detrimental infestation — registration

  (2) After the Minister has denied an application under subsection 8(4) to register a pest control product to permit its use in the emergency control of a seriously detrimental infestation because the Minister does not consider that the environmental risks of the pest control product are acceptable, the Governor in Council may, by order, register that product to permit that use in the emergency control of a seriously detrimental infestation if the Governor in Council considers it necessary to do so to protect national economic security, regional economic security or national food security.

• Marginal note:Conditions

  (3) An order made under this section in respect of a pest control product may contain any conditions related to the product that the Governor in Council considers necessary, including conditions that

  • (a) relate to the manufacture, possession, handling, storage, transport, distribution, use or disposition of the product;

  • (b) require the registrant to compile information, conduct tests and monitor experience with respect to the product for the purpose of obtaining additional information with respect to its effects on the environment or with respect to its value, and to submit that additional information to the Minister within the time and in the form and manner specified in the order;

  • (c) require the registrant to compile information and monitor experience with respect to the product for the purpose of obtaining additional information as to any effect that the product’s registration has on national economic security, regional economic security or national food security, and to submit that additional information to the Minister within the time and in the form and manner specified in the order; and

  • (d) require the persons or classes of persons specified in the order to keep the records specified in the order, and to submit those records to the Minister within the time and in the form and manner specified in the order.

• Marginal note:Duration of order

  (4) An order made under this section is in effect for the period specified in the order, which must not be for more than three years after the day on which the order comes into force. The Governor in Council may extend the period for a further period of not more than three years if the Governor in Council considers it necessary to do so to protect national economic security, regional economic security or national food security, but the Governor in Council may do so only once.

Marginal note:Cessation of effect

• 8.2 (1) Any amendments made to the registration of a pest control product by an order made under subsection 8.1(1) cease to have effect on the day on which the order expires or is repealed.

• Marginal note:Period of registration

  (2) If a pest control product is registered by an order made under subsection 8.1(2), the registration is valid for the same period as the order is in effect.

• Marginal note:Cancellation of registration by Minister

  (3) If the registration of a pest control product that is the subject of an order made under section 8.1 is cancelled by the Minister during the period for which the order is in effect, that order ceases to have effect on the date of the cancellation.

Marginal note:Restriction — international agreements

8.3 An order must not be made under section 8.1 if doing so would violate any international agreement binding on Canada.

Marginal note:Order to be made public

• 8.4 (1) An order made under section 8.1 must be made public as soon as practicable.

• Marginal note:Reasons

  (2) No later than 60 days after the order is made, reasons for making the order must also be made public.

Marginal note:Sunset provision

8.5 The Governor in Council is not authorized to make an order under section 8.1 in respect of a pest control product more than one year after the day on which the Minister has denied an application referred to in that section in respect of the product.

Marginal note:Non-application of Statutory Instruments Act

8.6 The Statutory Instruments Act does not apply in respect of an order made under section 8.1.

Maximum Residue Limits

Marginal note:Specification at time of registration decision

9 When making a decision regarding the registration of a pest control product, the Minister shall, if necessary, specify any maximum residue limits for the product or for its components or derivatives that the Minister considers appropriate in the circumstances.

Marginal note:Specification for unregistered products and uses

• 10 (1) The Minister may specify maximum residue limits for an unregistered pest control product or its components or derivatives, or for a registered pest control product or its components or derivatives with respect to a use that is not provided for by its registration, whether or not an application under subsection (2) is made for that purpose.

• Marginal note:Application for specification

  (2) Any person may make an application to the Minister to specify maximum residue limits pursuant to subsection (1). Section 7, with any necessary modifications, applies to that application.

• Marginal note:Evaluation of health risks

  (3) When specifying maximum residue limits for a pest control product or its components or derivatives pursuant to subsection (1), the Minister shall evaluate only the health risks of the product or its components or derivatives.

Marginal note:Health risks to be considered acceptable

• 11 (1) The health risks associated with maximum residue limits specified by the Minister under sections 9 and 10 must be considered to be acceptable by the Minister.

• Marginal note:Relevant factors

  (2) If a decision referred to in paragraph 28(1)(a) or (b) is being made or has been made in relation to a pest control product, the Minister shall, in evaluating and determining whether the health risks associated with maximum residue limits for that pest control product or its components or derivatives are acceptable under subsection (1),

  • (a) among other relevant factors, consider available information on

    • (i) aggregate exposure to the pest control product, namely dietary exposure and exposure from other non-occupational sources, including drinking water and use in and around homes and schools,

    • (ii) cumulative effects of the pest control product and other pest control products that have a common mechanism of toxicity, and

    • (iii) the different sensitivities to pest control products of major identifiable subgroups, including pregnant women, infants, children, women and seniors; and

  • (b) in the case of a threshold effect, apply a margin of safety that is ten times greater than the margin of safety that would otherwise be applicable under subparagraph 7(7)(b)(ii) or 19(2)(b)(ii) in respect of that threshold effect, to take into account potential pre- and post-natal toxicity and completeness of the data with respect to the exposure of, and toxicity to, infants and children, unless, on the basis of reliable scientific data, the Minister has determined that a different margin of safety would be appropriate.