Modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act — Canada’s pollution and toxics law

A briefing note from the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment and other health and environmental groups calling for the modernization of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999, to address current public health threats and environmental justice issues.

• The Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), 1999, is considered outdated as it has not been significantly amended in over twenty years, failing to account for current scientific understanding and modern threats such as the climate emergency, global plastic pollution, and the respiratory illness pandemic.
• Exposure to toxic substances creates significant public health and environmental justice disparities in Canada. Specific impacts include higher PFAS levels in Inuit pregnant women and children, an estimated 15,300 annual premature deaths from air pollution, and a higher likelihood (three times more) for lower-income Canadians to live within one kilometer of major air pollution sources.
• The briefing advocates for a strengthened version of Bill C-28, which previously failed to progress beyond First Reading. Proposed improvements include the recognition of a human right to a healthy environment, the prohibition of carcinogenic, mutagenic, or reproductive toxins, the requirement for safer chemical substitutions, and the establishment of a "presumption of non-confidentiality" regarding substances.
• The authors urge federal parties to implement 87 recommendations made by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development in 2017 and to pass a strengthened bill by the end of 2022.

APA

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (2021). Modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act — Canada’s pollution and toxics law. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Joint-CEPA-briefing-note-Dec.-2021.pdf

Chicago

Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment. Modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act — Canada’s pollution and toxics law. 2021. https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Joint-CEPA-briefing-note-Dec.-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment |title=Modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act — Canada’s pollution and toxics law |date=December 2021 |url=https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Joint-CEPA-briefing-note-Dec.-2021.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{canadianassociationofphysiciansfortheenvironment2021modernizing, author = {{Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}}, title = {{Modernizing the Canadian Environmental Protection Act — Canada’s pollution and toxics law}}, institution = {Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment}, year = {2021}, month = dec, url = {https://cape.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Joint-CEPA-briefing-note-Dec.-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }