ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE, ECOJUSTICE, CANADIAN ASSOCIATION OF PHYSICIANS FOR THE ENVIRONMENT, BREAST CANCER ACTION QUEBEC

Toronto | Traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishinaabeg, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat – In May 2023, the federal government proposed listing the entire class of PFAS as ‘toxic’ under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA). Listing PFAS as a class unlocks the government’s ability to pursue regulatory measures that could restrict and ban these highly hazardous ‘forever chemicals’. Today, the government walked back its proposal by removing fluoropolymer substances—a form of PFAS widely used in products such as plastics and textiles—from the proposed class. In addition to weakening Canada’s approach to addressing these global pollutants, it sets the regulatory timelines back by months, meaning people living in Canada continue to be left waiting for necessary federal action to protect them from these ubiquitous and persistent toxic pollutants. This is not a step forward, as Canada claims, but a step backward in addressing PFAS.

Cassie Barker, Senior Program Manager for Toxics at Environmental Defence said:

“It’s disappointing that, as more and more evidence of the harms of PFAS is emerging, Canada is dragging out our urgently needed PFAS phaseout. This massive class of persistent ‘forever chemicals’ is hurting the environment and making people sick. While other jurisdictions are moving forward on tackling PFAS, Canada is caving to the chemical industry’s push to keep profiting off of harm.”

Elaine MacDonald, Healthy Communities Program Director at Ecojustice said: 

“The chemical industry has falsely claimed that PFAS are safe while hiding the harms of PFAS for decades. As scientists attempt to identify what PFAS are in the marketplace, hidden in our products and contaminating our drinking water, the industry continues to interfere with and delay attempts to regulate PFAS by making false safety claims and misleading justifications regarding the use of PFAS.”

Dr. Lyndia Dernis, anaesthetist, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, said:

“Each day that action on PFAS is delayed, is another day where people are faced with the risk of potential harm to their health from this class of ubiquitous “forever chemicals.” Delays result in an increased burden of future illnesses and deaths with adverse impacts financially, emotionally, and on health care system capacity. CAPE championed changes to CEPA for the prioritization of the most toxic substances and any weakening on PFAS in response to industry pressure is a backward step for public health and environmental justice.”

Jennifer Beeman, Programs and Advocacy Coordinator, Breast Cancer Action Quebec, said: 

“Regulating PFAS as a class is essential for the protection of public health. Despite the world’s leading PFAS scientists pushing regulators to deal with this enormous group of forever chemicals as one class, the federal government has reissued its risk assessment of PFAS to exclude fluoropolymers. The development of this regulatory process has been underway for three years and will continue to drag on with additional rounds of consultation and delay tactics from industry lobbyists. The federal government must resist industry’s false claims, continue to hold its PFAS class definition, and protect the regulatory process from industry meddling. Industry is unable to provide safety data on the full lifecycle of fluoropolymers. Precaution must drive protective regulation, not powerful lobbying interests intent on continuing to pollute while the rest of us pay the price.“

Background: 

  • PFAS are a class of nearly 15,000 chemicals that do not break down due to their strong fluorine-carbon bond.
  • Industry has known about the harms of this class of PFAS chemicals for decades, and hidden their data from regulators and the public. While industry makes billions in PFAS profits, the world incurs trillions in associated health and cleanup costs. The estimated cost to Canada is up to $9 billion.
  • 98% of people in Canada have PFAS in their blood.
  • PFAS is present in the air, rain, species, atmosphere and water across the Great Lakes basin, which provides drinking water for 60 million people.
  • PFAS harm our health, and have been linked to cardiovascular mortality and cancers and risks for testicular cancer, liver damage, low infant birth weight, thyroid disease, immune system effects and asthma. Doctors are now being trained on how to identify and treat PFAS exposed patients.
  • Youth and people of Northern First Nations bear greater harms and exposures, and firefighters are dying of PFAS-related cancers at higher rates.
  • Fluoropolymers are among the largest production and applications of PFAS. They are used in plastic products and found in recycled plastic content and are a significant and well-documented source of environmental contamination and greenhouse gas emissions. Fluoropolymers are incorporated into textiles, cookware, and electronics and also form in plastic products and packaging, including food containers, that have been fluorinated to make the plastic function as desired.
  • Industry’s claims of broad fluoropolymer safety have not been demonstrated, particularly in its production, processing and application contexts where they can produce and release known harmful PFAS such as PFOA.
  • This analysis states that there is “no scientific rationale for concluding that fluoropolymers are of low concern for environmental and human health.”
  • Recent children’s gloves testing shows that fluoropolymer-coated and PFOA-forming products are being sold in Canada.
  • PFAS are absorbed through the skin at higher levels than previously thought.
  • 4 out of 5 people in Canada want PFAS regulatory action, according to our recent polling.
  • Food contact products have been found to contain PFAS.
  • Many brands have already moved away from PFAS in their products.
  • In June, BC launched a class-action suit against 12 PFAS producers seeking costs for the massive cleanup and drinking water treatment costs they face. They join US federal and state governments in seeking to holding polluters accountable.
  • Other jurisdictions (US, EU) are driving product-based prohibitions and binding drinking water standards. They are rejecting biased industry science and elevating the scientific consensus on this issue.
  • Comprehensive action on PFAS, including fluoropolymers, will be essential to the chemicals of concern work underway in the Global Plastics Treaty, which requires both Canada’s leadership and readiness for national implementation.
  • The class of PFAS is also highlighted in the most recent G7 communique as a priority, and Canada will host the G7 in 2025.

Read our backgrounder for more information 

ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENCE (environmentaldefence.ca): Environmental Defence is a leading Canadian environmental advocacy organization that works with government, industry and individuals to defend clean water, a safe climate and healthy communities.

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For more information or to request an interview, please contact:

Lauren Thomas, Environmental Defence, media@environmentaldefence.ca

Reykia Fick, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), media@cape.ca