Transparency in the Chemicals Management Plan

On this page

• Context: confidentiality and transparency under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999)
• The approach: confidentiality and transparency in the Chemicals Management Plan
  • Confidential substance identity claim review project
• Contact us

Context: confidentiality and transparency under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA 1999)

Transparency is important to build and maintain public confidence. The Government of Canada also has an obligation to protect confidential information. Under section 313 of CEPA 1999, any person who provides information to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change may request that this information be treated as confidential. This protects commercial interests by ensuring that confidential information is protected from public disclosure. The degree of protection given to such information is subject to sections 314-321 of CEPA 1999 and some provisions of the Access to Information Act (ATIA)

The approach: confidentiality and transparency in the Chemicals Management Plan

In October 2018, the Government of Canada updated and published the Approach to disclose confidential information and promote transparency in chemicals management. This approach seeks to balance transparency to support decisions in chemicals management with the right of stakeholders to protect confidential information.

Confidential substance identity claim review project

In accordance with the approach, to help increase awareness of the substances in the Canadian market, confidentiality claims for substance identity will be reviewed after a period of 10 years. The Government of Canada has developed the confidential substance identity claim review project, which implements a process to review these confidentiality claims.

The Government of Canada will review the confidentiality claims for substance identities in 4 phases: pilot phase, expanded scope, annual cyclical review and Government of Canada driven needs.

Contact us

For more information on the approach, please contact substances@ec.gc.ca.