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Minister of the Environment Ministre de l'Environnement

Ottawa, Canada K1A OH3

JUN 1 7 2015 Ms. Tanya Nayler Barrister and Solicitor Ecojustice Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Ottawa

1 Stewart Street, Suite 216 Ottawa ON K1 N 7M9

.Dear Ms. Nayler:

Thank you for your correspondence of March 23, 2015, written on behalf of Environ mental Defence, Lake Ontario Waterkeeper and Ottawa Riverkeeper, requesting the addition of plastic microbeads in persona! care products to the Priority Substances List under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999). 1 regret the delay in responding.

Subsection 76(3) of the Act concerning the Priority Substances List is the responsibility of bath the Minister of the Environ ment and the Minister of Health. Therefore, 1 am forwarding a copy of your correspondence to the Honourable Rona Ambrose, for consideration.

The House of Gommons unanimously voted on March 24, 2015, to add microbeads in consumer products to the List of Taxie Substances (Schedule 1) managed by the Government under CEPA 1999. A substance is added to Schedule 1 when the Governor in Council is satisfied, based on advice from the Minister of the Environ ment and the Minister of Health, that it meets the definition of "taxie" in section 64 of the Act.

To that end, Environment Canada is currently conducting a scientific review of microbeads in consumer products. Since we are already moving forward with action on microbeads, we believe it is not necessary to add this substance to the Priority Substances List at this time.

With regard to section 75 of CEPA 1999, as stated in Environment Canada's response to Environmental Petition No. 363 (Canada's implementation of section 75 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999, and the ban of substances by the European Union under the Regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals), the procedures to support this section's obligations were proposed and published for public comment in 2005. These procedures outlined that the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior lnformed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and

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Canada

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Pesticides in International Trade and its definitions would be used for the exchange of information among the Organisation for Economie Co-operation and Development member states. Actions taken by the State of Illinois have not followed this process and do not trigger a review under section 75.

1 trust that this information is helpful, and 1 extend my best wishes.

Sincerely,

The Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, P.C. M.P. Minister of the Environ ment

c.e.: The Honourable Rona Ambrose, P.C., M.P.