Protecting your health and the environment
Pesticides are stringently regulated in Canada to ensure they pose minimal risk to human health and the environment. Health Canada relies on a number of mechanisms to protect your health and the environment, throughout a pesticide's lifecycle.
Compliance and enforcement
Health Canada's Regional Offices promote and verify compliance with the Pest Control Products Act and Regulations. Regular investigations, inspections and consultations help ensure only the products that meet stringent safety standards are used in Canada and they're used according to the label directions.
Pesticides and food
Canadians are particularly concerned about the safety of the food they eat. A strict process is followed before pesticides are used on food to safeguard Canadians' health.
Health Canada thoroughly assesses the health and environmental risks of pesticides before products are registered for use in Canada. This extremely rigorous and complex process also examines the efficacy and the value of the product.
Programs and initiatives
Science and agriculture are constantly evolving, creating new opportunities for improving pest management practices. Health Canada works with various agencies, advisory bodies and other departments to develop programs and initiatives that support lower-risk products and sustainable pest management practices.
Public Registry
The Public Registry is a collection of non-confidential information on pesticides and the pesticide regulatory system.
Re-evaluation
To ensure registered products continue to meet the most modern health and environmental standards, pesticides are reassessed on a cyclical basis every 15 years by a special review process.
Science policies
To protect human health and the environment, Health Canada applies emerging scientific concepts and procedures in its regulatory decision-making. The issues and concerns that affect Canadians also play an important role. Science Policy Notices provide information on Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) policies, frameworks and issues related to science.
Pesticide incident reporting
Health Canada collects, monitors and analyses information about incident reports related to pesticide exposure from across Canada. This information is used to assess pesticide risks and improve risk-reduction efforts.