WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/TBT/N/CAN/340 
12 August 2011  
 (11-4027) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English/ 
 French 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member:  CANADA  
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:  Department of the Environmen t and Department of Health 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :  
Canadian Enquiry Point 
200-270 Albert Street, Ottawa, Ontario Canada, K1P 6N7 Tel.:  +1 613 238 3222 
Fax:  +1 613 569 7808 
E-mail:  enquirypoint@scc.ca  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Toxic substances 
(ICS: 13.020) 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:  Proposed Prohibition of 
Certain Toxic Substances Regula tions, 2012 (40 pages, available in English and French)     
6. Description of content:  The proposed Regulations are a mu lti-substance ri sk management 
instrument used to prohibit the ma nufacture, use, sale, offer for sa le or import of certain toxic 
substances, as well as products c ontaining these substances. When the Prohibition of Certain 
Toxic Substances Regulations  first came into effect in 1996, they covered 5 substances. These 
regulations have subsequently been amended and now contain contro ls for 18 substances.  
These proposed Regulations introduce the followi ng changes with respect to the current 
Regulations: 
New substances subject to controls:  
Four new substances are being proposed to be added:  
(1) Benzenamine N-phenyl-, reaction products with styrene and 2,4,4-trimethylpentene 
 (BNST);  
(2) Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs); G/TBT/N/CAN/340 
Page 2  
 
  (3) Short-chain chlorinated alkanes;  and  
(4) Tributyltins (TBTs). 
The final risk assessment reports  on BNST, short-chain chlorina ted alkanes, PCNs and TBTs 
concluded that these substances may be harmful to the environment and are toxic as set out in 
the Canadian Environmental Protection Act,  1999 (CEPA 1999). The final risk assessment 
reports also concluded that short-chain chlorinated alkanes may pose a danger to human 
health. In addition, all of these substances we re found to meet the crite ria for persistence and 
bioaccumulation as set out in the Persistence and Bioaccumulation Regulations . As such, it 
was recommended that these substances be added to the List of Toxic Substances in Schedule 1 of the CEPA 1999.  
In December 2009, Parties to the United Nations Convention on Long-range Trans boundary 
Air Pollution amended the Protocol on Persis tent Organic Pollutants to add seven new 
substances (the "amendment"), including PCNs  and short-chain chlorinated alkanes. Once 
parties ratify the amendment adding PCNs and short-chain chlorinated alkanes to the POPs 
protocol they will be required to eliminate a ll production and use of th ese substances. Adding 
PCNs and short-chain chlorinated alkanes to the proposed Regulations is expected to put in 
place the required domestic measures that would allow Canada to consider ratifying the 
amendment adding thes e two substances. 
Updating Existing Restrictions on the Use of Hexachlorobenzene (HCB): 
The proposed Regulations would m odify controls on the substance HCB so as to broaden the 
prohibition and ensure continued compliance with international obligations. 
Administrative Changes: 
The proposed Regulations would further include administrative changes co nsisting of specific 
wording revisions and harmonizi ng the English and French language versions of the current 
Regulations.  They also in clude simplifying reporting requirements for industry. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Protection of human health and the environment  
8. Relevant documents:   Canada Gazette, Part I, 23 Ju ly 2011, Pages 2450-2489 (available in 
English and French)   
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
Proposed date of entry into force:    Not stated  
Three months after the day on which the measure is adopted. 
10. Final date for comments:  6 October 2011  G/TBT/N/CAN/340 
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  11. Text available from:  National enquiry point [X], or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addres ses, if available of the other body:   The electronic 
version of the regulatory text can be downloaded at: 
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-p r/p1/2011/2011-07-23/pdf/g1-14530.pdf  (Canada Gazette) 
or http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p 1/2011/2011-07-23/html/reg1-eng.html  (English)  
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/ p1/2011/2011-07-23/html/reg1-fra.html  (French) 
The Proposed Prohibition of Certain To xic Substances Regulations , 2012  can also be 
accessed via Regulations website at:  
http://www.ec.gc.ca/lcpe -cepa/eng/regulations/d efault.cfm?n=54FE5535-1