OTTAWA, ONTARIO / Content Syndication Services / – Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government has enacted Bill C-30, a budget implementation law that changes Canada’s pesticide approval system. The Spring Economic Update 2026 Implementation Act received Royal Assent on June 18. The law amends the Pest Control Products Act and gives the Governor in Council authority to allow certain pesticide uses after an environmental risk finding blocks normal approval.
The measure applies to pest control products, the legal term Canada uses for pesticides and related products. It allows Cabinet to register a product, amend a registration, or reinstate a registration in defined cases. The power applies when the Health Minister does not consider the environmental risks acceptable. Cabinet must also consider the order necessary to protect national economic security, regional economic security, or national food security.
The law keeps the Health Minister’s main role under the Pest Control Products Act. It also adds economic and food security factors for the minister to consider where appropriate. Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency administers the Act for the minister. The agency oversees pesticide reviews, registrations, and related rules for products used to control pests in Canada.
Cabinet gains order powers
One section covers emergency control of a seriously detrimental infestation. If the minister denies a product for that emergency use because of environmental risk, Cabinet may still authorize the registration or amendment. The order can include conditions on manufacturing, possession, handling, storage, transport, distribution, use, or disposal. It can also require tests, monitoring, records, and information from the registrant.
Another section covers re-evaluations and special reviews of products already in the system. If a review says a registration must change or end because of environmental risk, Cabinet may amend or reinstate it. These orders can last up to three years. Cabinet may extend them once for up to three more years when the legal test still applies.
Public notice rules apply
The legislation includes notice and publication rules for those orders. For re-evaluation and special review orders, the government must make a public notice at least 30 days before the order. The notice must name the pest control product and state the proposed duration. The law also says Cabinet cannot make an order if it would violate an international agreement binding on Canada.
Environmental and health groups criticized the pesticide provisions during Senate review of Bill C-30. Ecojustice urged lawmakers to remove the amendments from the bill. The Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment also opposed the changes. Their filings said the amendments let Cabinet permit pesticide use after a federal finding that environmental risks do not meet the normal standard.