Health

During question period on health, Elizabeth May raised concerns about proposed changes to the Pest Control Products Act, which she said would reduce protections for human health and the environment more than any previous version of the law, and asked why the changes were being handled through a finance bill rather than by the Health Minister. The Health Minister, Marjorie Michel, responded that the health and safety of Canadians remains a top priority, and said the government is modernizing its regulatory process to take a risk-based approach, cut red tape, and support the agriculture sector while keeping the food supply safe.Written by AI from the debate. Updated .

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2 statements

Elizabeth May, Saanich—Gulf Islands

Green
“This bill lowers protections for human health and the environment more than any pest control law in our history. Changes like this should not be hidden in a finance bill. I want the Minister of Health to explain why this is not coming from her department and why she is not protecting our health.”
Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, even if we go back to the 1985 version of the Pest Control Products Act, as opposed to the current 2002 version, in that entire history there have never been revisions to the Pest Control Products Act that so reduced protections for human health and the environment, and they have never, ever come from the Department of Finance in an omnibus budget bill until this in Bill C-30 and Bill C-31. To the hon. Minister for Health, why is this not coming from the health minister, and why is she not protecting our health?

Marjorie Michel, Minister of Health

Liberal

Linked statement

“Canadians' health and safety is our top priority. We can protect people while cutting red tape and supporting farmers. We are updating our rules to focus on the highest risks and keep our food supply safe.”
  • Government answer in Question Period

    Relevance 46 of 100

    None of this answer addressed the specific question that was asked.

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Official Hansard

Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would say the health and safety of Canadians will always remain our top priority. However, we can do this while supporting our agriculture sector and cutting red tape. We are modernizing our regulatory process to take a risk-based approach so that we can focus on higher risk areas and ensure we keep the safety and security of Canadians, and our food supply, first.

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