Canadian Government Ends Conditional Pesticide Registrations
Conditional registrations have been granted when scientific review determines the risks of a pesticide are acceptable but additional confirming data are required. Conditional registrations don't undergo a public consultation until the registration is amended, renewed, or converted to a full registration.
Jane Philpott, Canada's minster of health, announced Jan. 19 that the government of Canada will stop granting new conditional registrations of pesticides as of June 1, 2016. She described this as an important step in improving the transparency of Canada's pesticide regulatory system.
According to Health Canada, pesticides are registered in Canada after a rigorous scientific evaluation determines that no harm to human health, future generations, or the environment will result from exposure or use to them. "Conditional registrations have been granted on occasion when the scientific review determines that the risks of a pesticide are acceptable but that additional confirmatory information is required. Unlike full registrations, conditional registrations do not undergo a public consultation until the registration is amended, renewed, or converted to a full registration," according to the agency, which reported that "moving away from conditional registrations will provide reassurance that all pesticide registration decisions are made with the same high level of scientific and public scrutiny."
"The government of Canada is committed to making regulatory decisions that are open and transparent, which is why we have decided to discontinue the use of conditional registrations," Philpott said.
A Notice of Intent has been posted on Health Canada's website; the agency is accepting comments until March 19, 2016. The final decision will be published after all comments have been considered. Currently, about 1 percent of all pesticides in Canada are conditionally registered.
Registered pesticides regularly are re-evaluated to ensure that they continue to meet human health and environmental standards.