‘The right to a healthy environment, if you can’t enforce it, is a bumper sticker,’ said Green Leader Elizabeth May, who voted against the environmental protection bill
The federal government’s new environmental-protection law, which gained royal assent on Wednesday, is a missed opportunity and could even weaken protection against toxic substances, environmental groups and the Green Party say.
But Elizabeth May, Leader of the Green Party, said the first CEPA update in 20 years fails to strengthen the regulations of genetically modified animals and fish, and the dumping of chemicals in the oceans. Ms. May said the effect of the updated act – considered Canada’s flagship environmental law - would be to downgrade some chemicals previously considered toxic. However, she welcomed the phasing-out of toxicity testing of chemicals on animals.
Humane Society International, Canada said many of the toxicity tests on animals are not only cruel but outdated. “At a time where evidence continues to show that toxic pollution is growing, Bill S-5 prioritizes the phase-out and elimination of only a small fraction of the worst toxic substances in Canadian commerce and does not advance the use of safe alternatives in most instances,” said Joseph Castrilli, a lawyer at the association.
Nature Canada expressed disappointment that Ottawa did not improve the regulation of genetically engineered animals and fish, including GE Atlantic salmon, farmed on Prince Edward Island.
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