Pest Management Regulatory Agency
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency is the Canadian government agency responsible for the regulation of pest control products in Canada under the federal authority of the Pest Control Products Act and Regulations. The agency is a branch that reports to Parliament through Health Canada. The PMRA is responsible for providing access to pest management tools while minimizing the risks to human health and the environment by “using modern evidence-based scientific approaches to pesticide regulation, in an open and transparent manner”. Their main activity areas include: new product evaluation, post market review and compliance and enforcement.
The PMRA works with provincial, territorial and federal departments in Canada to help refine and strengthen pesticide regulation across the country. Outside of Canada, the Agency works closely with international organizations such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the North American Free Trade Agreement Technical Working Group, the European Union, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. They work to align the processes used to regulate pest control products and uphold the protection of health and the environment.
As of April 2017, the agency has approximately 400 employees. Over 75% of PMRA’s employees are scientists, with specializations in toxicology, environmental science, biology and chemistry. Other employees include policy, regulations, communications and administration. The PMRA's headquarters is in the Sir Charles Tupper Building in Ottawa, ON.
History
In 1990, the Pesticides Registration Review Team was tasked with developing recommendations to improve the federal pesticide regulatory system. The Review Team consulted with Canadians across the country proposing a major reform to the federal pest management regulatory system. Proposed reforms from the Review Team were to establish a multi-stakeholder advisory council and the federal/provincial/territorial committee. Furthermore to increase public participation they recommended providing access to information on regulatory decisions with the intention of increasing openness and transparency. Additional suggestions to improve operation included:- The use of a risk management approach
- Labeling provisions for safe use
- Re-evaluation of older pesticides and special reviews that may result from new information
- Data protection policy
- A cost recovery scheme
- Mandatory incident reporting
- Compliance and enforcement strategies and provisions
In 1995, the formation of the Pest Management Regulatory Agency was approved with the purpose of consolidating the resources and responsibilities for pest management regulation. Staff and resources were consolidated from several federal departments — Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Health Canada — into a single branch under Health Canada. Although the other departments are no longer officially involved in the decision-making process, they support the work of the PMRA through research and monitoring activities in their respective fields of expertise. Subsequently, the administration of the Pest Control Products Act was transferred from the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food to the Minister of Health.
By 1998, the PMRA had set up policies for product evaluations in which additional protection was required for vulnerable sectors like children and pregnant women, and pesticide exposure from all sources had to be taken into account, including food and water. These policies were formalized when a new Pest Control Products Act was approved in 2002 and came into force on June 28, 2006, replacing the 35-year old Act. On 31 January 2008, the Review Panel Regulations were instituted, to administer sections 35 to 40 of the then-renewed Act. A statutory review of the Pest Control Products Act was held by the Health Committee of Parliament on 27 January 2015. Three witnesses from the Pest Management Regulatory Agency were called to speak on the legislation. Aucoin, the Executive Director of the PMRA, stressed the science based and OECD-collaborative nature of the review process.
Organization
The PMRA is managed by an Executive Director who reports to the Deputy Minister of Health:- Claire Franklin, 1995-2005
- Karen Dodds:, 2005-2008
- Richard Aucoin:, 2008-
- Executive Director’s Office
- Registration Directorate
- Health Evaluation Directorate
- Environmental Assessment Directorate
- Value Assessment and Re-Evaluation Management Directorate
- Compliance, Laboratory Services and Regional Operations Directorate
- Policy, Communications and Regulatory Affairs Directorate
- Strategic Planning, Financial and Business Operations Division
Related Legislation
The PCPA and the Pest Control Products Regulations maintain that:
- No person manufactures, stores, displays, distributes, or uses any pest control product under unsafe conditions
- No person packages, labels, or advertises any pest control product in a manner that is false, misleading, or deceptive, or is likely to create a false impression about the pest control product
- No person sells or imports a pest control product unless it is registered
In addition, Health Canada maintains a lengthy list of Policies and Guidelines which must be observed by the Agency.
Main Activities
The primary role of the PMRA is to determine if a proposed pest control product can be used safely when label directions are followed and if the product is effective for its intended use.Under the Pest Control Products Act a “pest control product” is defined as:
a product, an organism or a substance, including a product, an organism or a substance derived through biotechnology, that consists of its active ingredient, formulants and contaminants, and that is manufactured, represented, distributed or used as a means for directly or indirectly controlling, destroying, attracting or repelling a pest or for mitigating or preventing its injurious, noxious or troublesome effects;
an active ingredient that is used to manufacture anything described in paragraph ; or
any other thing that is prescribed to be a pest control product.
New Product Evaluation
Before a product can be submitted for evaluation, the PMRA has over 200 types of mandated tests that developers must perform to verify that the end product does not pose unacceptable risks. The PMRA then uses the given data to perform independent assessments in accordance with the PCPA. A product will only be registered if there is sufficient scientific evidence to show it does not pose an unacceptable health or environmental risk and that it serves a useful purpose. In all cases the conditions of registration are specified, including label direction instructions, so that the product can be used safely.Post Market Review
Re-evaluations are used to access any changes in data requirements and verify that the products comply with modern day standards. A re-evaluation must be initiated if 15 years have passed since the last major risk assessment. Re-evaluations can result in amendments to the use pattern, label statements, or classification of a product. However, if it is determined that the risks to human health or the environment are no longer acceptable, or that the product is without value for its intended purpose, the registration is cancelled.Special reviews allow the PMRA to cancel or amend the registration of one or more registered pest control products without waiting for its scheduled re-evaluation. The special review of a product is initiated if there is reason to believe that risks may no longer acceptable based on new scientific information.
To continue to monitor for safety after products are registered, registrants are required to report pesticide sales volumes along with any incidents associated with their products. Under the PCPA, company reports include adverse human and environmental effects as well as new data. Product users and the public can also report incidents.
Compliance and Enforcement
Health Canada works to promote, monitor, and enforce pesticide compliance activities under the National Pesticides Compliance Program. The program is administered jointly by the Pest Management Regulatory Agency and the Regulatory Operations and Enforcement Branch of Health Canada. The PMRA inspects reports of illegal pesticides or misuse through its network of regional officers. Additionally, laboratory scientists test pesticides to determine if they comply with the specifications for which registration was granted.Violations of the PCPA or PCPR are responded to with appropriate compliance and enforcement measures.
These measures include:
- Encouraging voluntary removal of product by the distributor
- Seizing the product
- Refusing entry of the product into Canada
- Issuing a compliance order, warning or penalty
- Amending suspending or cancelling the product registration