Comments and Reply: Harmonization

A number of industry stakeholders recommended that the proposed Regulations be harmonized with either provincial regimes or the approach taken in U.S. Regulations.

Response: Article 11 of the Basel Convention allows parties to the Convention to enter into bilateral agreements, as long as such arrangements do not derogate from the environmentally sound management of wastes. Accordingly, the Canada-U.S.A. Agreement and its supporting regulatory framework are aligned with the control procedures set out in the Convention.

Environment Canada agrees that the proposed Regulations should be harmonized with those of the United States to the extent possible. As such, Canada's definitions of hazardous waste and hazardous recyclable material are harmonized with those of the U.S. using a hazardous characteristic and listing approach, while Schedules 1 and 2 are consistent with both the Basel Convention and OECD Decision.