Part 4 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999) gives the Minister of the Environment the authority to require the preparation and implementation of pollution prevention (P2) plans for CEPA-toxic substances.¹

The Minister will require the preparation and implementation of P2 plans by issuing a Notice under Section 56 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 in the Canada Gazette.² These Notices specify the persons or class of persons³ covered by the Notice; the substances or group of substances; the commercial, manufacturing, processing, or other activities covered by the Notice; the factors to be considered in preparing the plan; the time limits for preparing and implementing plans; and any administrative matter. See Appendix 2 for an example of a P2 Planning Notice.

Persons subject to a Notice are required to file two declarations under subsections 58(1) and 58(2) of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999: a Declaration That a Pollution Prevention Plan Has Been Prepared and is Being Implemented and a Declaration That a Pollution Prevention Plan Has Been Implemented. The Minister may also require that interim progress reports be filed. These reports allow Environment Canada to monitor the progress being made under a Notice. The content of these declarations and reports is prescribed in each Notice. Information provided in the declarations and in the reports should be consistent with the information contained in the P2 plan. Pursuant to subsection 58(3), if the information contained in a declaration under subsection 58(1) or (2) becomes false or misleading at any time after the filing, an amended Declaration must be filed within 30 days. See appendices 3, 6, and 7 for samples of the Declaration That a Pollution Prevention Plan Has Been Prepared and Is Being Implemented, an Interim Progress Report, and the Declaration That a Pollution Prevention Plan Has Been Implemented.

The Minister also has the authority, under section 60 of CEPA 1999, to require that a P2 plan be submitted in whole or in part so that preventive or control actions can be assessed.

CEPA 1999 provides significant penalties for not complying with the provisions of the Act or for providing false or misleading information. Penalties are described under Part 10 of the Act (sections 272 and 273) and include fines or imprisonment or both.

Appendix 1 contains the full text of Part 4 of CEPA 1999.

¹Toxic substances are substances or groups of substances that are specified on the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.

² Section 56 Notices are also referred to as P2 Planning Notices, or simply as Notices.

³“Persons or class of persons” are also referred to as “persons.”