Late last week Prime Minster Justin Trudeau released his “mandate letters” to all Ministers in his cabinet. The letters are a relatively new development in the Westminster parliamentary system and, in addition to several usually generic statements on how Ministers are expected to act or behave, they outline the various (and often long list) of matters that the Ministers are expected to undertake or address during their tenure in their respective Ministries.
Of particular interest to our industry are the mandate letters to the Minister of Health, the Hon. Jean-Yves Duclos, and the Minister of the Environment & Climate Change, the Hon. Steven Guilbeault.
The specific references in their respective mandate letters are as follows (with any CA commentary in brackets).
Minster of Health
• “Immediate priority is to help finish the fight against COVID-19” and to “continue to provide leadership” in this fight against COVID-19. (Not a surprise that this would be the immediate priority. We must therefore recognize that other priorities for the Minister’s time and attention for both his department and stakeholders will likely find it more difficult particularly in light of the spread of the new COVID variant.)
• The Minister is expected to deliver on the following government commitments (that involve or could affect our industry):
- “Work with partners to take increased and expedited action to monitor, prevent and mitigate the serious and growing threat of anti-microbial resistance and preserve the effectiveness of the antimicrobials Canadians rely on every day.”
- Protect Canadians from “harmful chemicals” by
– Strengthening the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (Not a surprise, the proposed legislation was introduced in the last Parliament and is expected to be re-introduced shortly. Challenge will be to have it passed. Previously proposed bill had wide industry support.)
– Introduce mandatory labelling of chemicals in consumer products. (Although cosmetics already have mandatory ingredient labelling, some further requirements could be included. The recognition and use of digital labels could assist in managing any new requirements.)
– Introduce legislation to end testing on animals. (As this instruction is not limited to “cosmetics”, it suggests that a major policy initiative affecting “testing on animals” and applying to all of Health Canada’s safety testing – including for pharmaceuticals, natural health products, non-prescription drugs, foods, consumer products generally, and not just cosmetics – will be forthcoming sometime in the new year.)
– Increase testing of products for compliance with Canadian standards. (This could be used to support increased compliance action for imported products sold via e-commerce channels – which would assist in levelling the regulatory playing field for already compliant companies.)
• Importantly, the Minister is also advised that in addition “to achieving results”, he is “responsible for overseeing the work of the department and ensuring the effective operation of the portfolio. All Ministers have also been reminded that “governments must draw on lessons learned from the pandemic to further adapt and develop more agile and effective ways to serve Canadians”, and that they are expected to “evaluate ways they can update practices to ensure Government continues to meet the challenges of today and tomorrow.” (The completion of the Self-Care Framework is certainly one of several modernization initiatives being undertaken by Health Canada intended to make regulatory operations more agile, effective and efficient. As the department has already accounted for the SCF in their Forward Regulatory Plan, we expect that these general instructions in the mandate letter will support Health Canada’s continued effort to complete and implement this important initiative.)
• Also of interest, the Prime Minister further advises that he “expects” the Minister to “actively consider new ideas and issues as they emerge, whether through public engagement , work with Parliamentarians, or advice from the public service”, and that Canadians expect the government to “work hard, speak truthfully and be committed to advancing their interests and aspirations”. (This further supports our efforts to advance and complete a principle-based Self-Care Framework.)
• Ministers are also being asked to return to the Prime Minister with a proposed approach to implementing new measures, including “priorities for early implementation.” (This should shortly provide stakeholders with a better understanding as to timing, as well as opportunities to provide input.)
The full mandate letter to the Minister of Health is available HERE.
Minister of Environment & Climate Change
• Enact a “strengthened” Canadian Environmental Protection Act. (Please see similar note under Minister of Health.)
• Achieve Zero Plastic Waste by 2030; (the “plastics file” will require much industry attention, innovation and action over the next few years):
- Continue implementation of the “national ban on harmful single-use plastics”.
- Require that all plastic packaging in Canada contain at least 50 per cent recycled content by 2030.
- Accelerate the implementation of the zero plastic waste action plan, in partnership with provinces and territories.
- Continue to work with provinces and territories to ensure that producers, not taxpayers, are responsible for the cost of managing their plastic waste.
- Introduce labelling rules that prohibit the use of the chasing-arrows symbol unless 80 per cent of Canada’s recycling facilities accept, and have reliable end markets for, these products.
- Support provincial and territorial producer responsibility efforts by establishing a federal public registry and requiring producers to report annually on plastics in the Canadian economy.
• Work with the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Industry on the creation of a new infrastructure and innovation fund that will scale-up and commercialize made-in-Canada technologies and solutions for the reuse and recycling of plastics. (A possible source of funding for innovation – including for packaging innovations in our industry, but will require a funding commitment in the federal budget.)
• Build on the Oceans Plastics Charter by working with leading countries on the development of a new global agreement on plastics. (An area where our industry will have to be engaged both locally and internationally.)
The full mandate letter to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change is available HERE.
Your CA team will continue to keep you updated on issues that can affect your business!
For questions or comments please contact your CA Team (ca@cosmeticsalliance.ca).
