Good day, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. It's a pleasure to be here to provide our perspective on the committee's review of Bill S-5.

My name is Shannon Coombs. I am the president of the Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association. For 24 years I have proudly represented the many accomplishments of this proactive and responsible industry. For 19 of those years, I have been president. The last two years of my tenure at CCSPA have been a very challenging yet rewarding time for industry and government. We have collectively delivered disinfectants, sanitizers and hand sanitizers plus general cleaners to ensure that Canadians had the products they needed to keep them safe, whether it be in their homes, their workplaces or their schools.

I would like to thank all the members of the committee who follow us on Twitter and have retweeted us in the last 32 months as we promoted handwashing and numerous important COVID advisories, most recently on monkeypox, during this unprecedented time. Getting good, factual and useful information to Canadians during the pandemic was and is a key priority for the association.

Today I would like to offer a quick outline of how the act works for our industry, the success of the world-leading CMP program, and our support for moving forward.

Why is CEPA important to CCSPA and our members? It's a sophisticated 400-page piece of legislation. In 1999, after an exhaustive review by your predecessors in this very forum—my first few months in the industry—the environment committee reviewed over 550 proposed amendments, 150 of which were included in the final bill after 93 hours of review. As a result, it has led to some significant outcomes for Canadians.

One such outcome is the chemicals management plan, referred to as the CMP, which is a science-based risk assessment program for chemicals and their management. In short, CEPA governs our ingredients, both existing and new.

CCSPA has supported this world-leading government program since 2006. We have strived to ensure that our pillars of sound science, due process and effective communications have been embraced in the program. Canadians should be proud of this program. Our country is a global leader in how substances are assessed and managed regardless of where that chemical is used.

We were very pleased to see Bill S-5 tabled on February 9 in the Senate. The package at the time was a thoughtful proposal of many views, including the 2006 and 2016 parliamentary reviews. Current policies are being codified, with some bold thinking to modernize the act.

What does it codify? It codifies a right to a healthy environment, vulnerable populations and cumulative effects, and information regarding the risks of toxic substances, including labelling.

What are some of the new amendments? They are the use of the “best placed” act and “best placed” minister, and the list of substances...of becoming toxic, unfortunately misnamed as the watch-list.

In the Senate, two additional amendments were included. In our opinion, one is outside the scope of Bill S-5 and one adds some regulatory red tape. CCSPA would ask ENVI to consider removing the following: clause 67.1, which is the requirement for ISED to test imported products to ensure that they meet Canadian regulations and to prepare a report to Parliament; and subclause 13(1), requiring a database of all actions related to 30,000 chemicals.

In closing, I'd like to state that the CCSPA has been, and remains committed to, working with this government on supporting an efficient and effective piece of legislation and regulatory framework. The bill continues to strike an important balance of codifying important principles. The health and safety of Canadians and the environment remains paramount.

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