Canadian approach to chemicals management highlighted at GlobalChem conference.

March 23, 2017

This year, Canada’s chemistry industry was an active participant in the Global Chemical Regulations Conference (GlobalChem) hosted by the American Chemistry Council (ACC) in Washington D.C. February 22-24.

Nova Chemicals’ Linda Santry, Product Regulatory Compliance, joined regulators from Environment & Climate Change Canada and Health Canada on a panel that gave a high-level overview of Canada’s Chemicals Management Plan. The panel, moderated by the Chemistry Industry Association of Canada’s Legal Counsel and Director of Chemicals Management Scott Thurlow, covered an array of topics including Canada’s approach to categorization, risk assessments, risk management, and new substances. The panel was extremely well received by attendees, who were very complimentary of the strong relationship between the regulators and industry.

The next day, Mr. Thurlow was part of a panel that included representatives from Dow Chemical, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the Brazilian chemical industry which focused on identifying a path forward to developing a risk-based approach to chemicals for the Americas, and enhancing regulatory cooperation initiatives in the region. Mr. Thurlow’s presentation focused on Canada’s current regulatory cooperation initiatives and where opportunity for partnerships could lie. He also discussed how the Canadian model for chemicals regulation and management could be emulated with its trade partners. The panel identified the role that bilateral and multilateral trade agreements can play as potential launching pads for regulatory cooperation.