Every day, people across the country are unknowingly exposed to toxic chemicals. These toxics are severely impacting our health and environment through our air, water, food, clothes, and cleaning supplies.

Right now, there is a historic opportunity to significantly reduce toxics exposure in Canada. The two main pieces of legislation with the greatest impact on environmental and human exposure to toxics—the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) and the Pest Control Products Act (PCPA)—are scheduled for review.

In response, some of Canada’s leading organizations on the issue of toxics have come together to form the Coalition for Action on Toxics. The goals of the Coalition are to:

• Significantly reduce toxics in the environment and eliminate substances of high concern.
• Reform how the use of toxics is approved, including the establishment of a “no-data, no market” approach to approval, placing the onus on industry to prove that their products are safe for Canadians and the environment.

The Coalition is a project of Tides Canada’s shared platform and includes the following partners: Canadian Association for Physicians for the Environment (CAPE), Ecojustice, Environmental Defence, Équiterre.