Speech

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

---

PRIME MINISTER ANNOUNCES CANADA’S NEW CHEMICALS MANAGEMENT PLAN

December 8, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

PLEASE CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen.

I’m very pleased to be here today with Ministers Ambrose and Clement and Parliamentary Secretary Warawa, to announce another major initiative by Canada’s New Government to protect and improve our environment.

Before I begin, I’d like to acknowledge some other very important people who are with us:

Stephen Samis, Chair of the Chronic Disease Prevention Alliance of Canada

Ken Kyle, Public Services Director with the Canadian Cancer Society

And Dr. John service, Chair of the Canadian Alliance on Mental Illness and Mental Health

They all have a major stake in the new initiative we are announcing today.

Finally, I’d like to thank Dr. Virginia Salares, who just gave me a tour of a toxics-free model home for people who suffer from acute chemical sensitivity.

Today’s announcement will be of particular interest to them.

When we took office, we promised to replace environmental talk with environmental action. Action that’s practical, realistic and actually delivers results – because results are what matter.

That’s why we moved quickly to boost public transit in our first budget.

Why we set new benchmarks for the use of renewable fuel.

Why we cracked down on the release of mercury into the environment.

And why we set out targets for reducing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions for the first time ever in Canada, in our Clean Air Act.

All these initiatives reflect our commitment to a healthier environment for all Canadians.

And today we are unveiling the next major element of our environmental agenda: Canada’s new Chemicals Management Plan.

This plan, which I am announcing today, includes realistic and enforceable measures that will substantially increase protection of Canadians from dangerous chemicals.

In fact, it will make Canada a world leader in the testing and regulation of chemicals that are used in thousands of industrial and consumer products.

Now chemicals, of course, are part of the natural environment. They’re in the foods we eat, the fluids we drink and the air we breathe.

Most are benign. In the right volumes and combinations, they are the building blocks of life itself.
And in the hands of our scientists, engineers and industrialists, chemicals are manipulated to improve the quality of our lives, to increase food production, to cure illness, and to bring us many of the comforts and conveniences of modern life.

But some chemicals are inherently dangerous and can remain so for a long time; they must be carefully managed and regulated.

This is what our Chemicals Management Plan is all about.

Over the next four years, we will tighten regulations and accelerate risk assessment for thousands of chemicals.

Our plan will require substantial investment of public funds, but in the long run it will save money by reducing expenditures on public health and the clean-up of contaminated land and water.

While Canada has always been responsible when it comes to chemical management, I’m proud to say that we will become a world leader because of today’s announcement.

Although since 1994, new chemical substances produced or imported into our country have been subject to rigorous assessment by federal government scientists, some 23,000 “legacy” chemicals have not undergone the assessment required of new substances.

All developed countries face the same challenge, and all have committed to safely manage chemicals by 2020.

Canada has now become the first country in the world to achieve full categorization of our legacy chemicals.

We are ahead of America and Europe, and Canada’s New Government is committed to keeping our nation at the forefront of health and environmental protection.

Our chemicals management plan is the next step in the process.

Ministers Ambrose and Clement have worked very hard on this plan, so I’ll ask them to fill you in on the details.

---

The Prime Minister’s Office - Communications
[Note: You are receiving this e-mail for information only, and because you have subscribed to our distribution list. To modify your subscription or to have your name removed from the list, go to: (http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/subscribe.asp?login)]

Speech

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

---

Prime Minister Stephen Harper participates in the Lighting up the Capital Ceremony

December 8, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

PLEASE CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,

And thank you, Adrian and Daniele, for that introduction.

And thank you, Marcel, for inviting me and my family to this wonderful event.

It’s a great pleasure to join with you today on Parliament Hill as we flip the switch on Christmas lights across Canada.

In a few minutes, the nation’s capital will be bathed in the glow of hundreds of thousands of lights.

A third of them, I’m proud to say, are environmentally friendly LED lights.

Thanks to Christmas lights across Canada, prominent sites in the National Capital Region – including Parliament Hill, Rideau Hall and 24 Sussex – will sparkle throughout the holiday season and so will the provincial and territorial capitals.

From St. John’s to Iqaluit to Victoria, lights will usher in the Christmas season in Canada.

Over the holidays, Canadians will be dazzled by lights in all our capital cities.

Throughout the yuletide season, Canadians will gather to sing Christmas carols, skate on outdoor rinks and share the fellowship that brings us all a little closer together at this time of year.

For at least a few days, I hope we’ll take a break from our hectic lives and reflect on how fortunate we are to live in the best country in the world.

This good fortune, we owe to the generations of Canadians who have worked so hard to build our country and made tremendous sacrifices to keep it strong, united, democratic and free – especially the men, women and families of our Canadian Forces.

So in this holiday spirit, please accept best wishes from Laureen and me and our family.

However you celebrate Christmas – going to parties, exchanging gifts with family and friends, worshipping in church or helping out less fortunate neighbours – Laureen and our family wish you and your loved ones a very merry Christmas and a happy, prosperous 2007.

Thank you.

And God bless Canada.

---

The Prime Minister’s Office - Communications
[Note: You are receiving this e-mail for information only, and because you have subscribed to our distribution list. To modify your subscription or to have your name removed from the list, go to: (http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/subscribe.asp?login)]

News Release

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

---

CANADA’S NEW GOVERNMENT IMPROVES PROTECTION AGAINST HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS

December 8, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, along with the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment, and the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, today unveiled Canada's new Chemicals Management Plan. The plan takes immediate action to regulate chemicals that are harmful to human health or the environment.

Prime Minister Harper said the plan is part of the government's comprehensive environmental agenda, which includes the Clean Air Act, support for public transit and action on renewable fuels. "The Chemicals Management Plan we are unveiling today will make Canada a world leader in assessing and regulating chemicals that are used in thousands of industrial and consumer products," said the Prime Minister. "It includes realistic and enforceable measures that will improve our environment and protect the health and safety of Canadians."

"Since 1994, new chemicals have not been manufactured in Canada or imported here without undergoing a scientific risk assessment," Minister Ambrose explained. "Now that same rigorous assessment will be applied to 'legacy chemicals' that were introduced between January 1, 1984, and December 31, 1986."

"Canada was the first country to complete categorization of 23,000 legacy chemicals last September," added Minister Clement. "It will be the first, now, to take action. We have established clear priorities and now we are taking action to protect the health of Canadians."

"Moving forward, we will improve product labelling programs as well as deal with imported products which use chemical substances that are prohibited here in Canada," Minister Clement indicated.

Canada's New Government intends to commit $300 million over four years to implement the Chemicals Management Plan. To provide Canadians with the latest information about hazardous chemicals, the Government is also launching a new Web portal that can be found at http://www.chemicalsubstances.gc.ca.

---

The Prime Minister’s Office - Communications
[Note: You are receiving this e-mail for information only, and because you have subscribed to our distribution list. To modify your subscription or to have your name removed from the list, go to: (http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/subscribe.asp?login)]

News Release

From the Prime Minister's Web Site (http://www.pm.gc.ca/)

---

CANADA’S NEW GOVERNMENT IMPROVES PROTECTION AGAINST HAZARDOUS CHEMICALS

December 8, 2006
Ottawa, Ontario

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, along with the Honourable Rona Ambrose, Minister of the Environment, and the Honourable Tony Clement, Minister of Health, today unveiled Canada's new Chemicals Management Plan. The plan takes immediate action to regulate chemicals that are harmful to human health or the environment.

Prime Minister Harper said the plan is part of the government's comprehensive environmental agenda, which includes the Clean Air Act, support for public transit and action on renewable fuels. "The Chemicals Management Plan we are unveiling today will make Canada a world leader in assessing and regulating chemicals that are used in thousands of industrial and consumer products," said the Prime Minister. "It includes realistic and enforceable measures that will improve our environment and protect the health and safety of Canadians."

"Since 1994, new chemicals have not been manufactured in Canada or imported here without undergoing a scientific risk assessment," Minister Ambrose explained. "Now that same rigorous assessment will be applied to 'legacy chemicals' that were introduced between January 1, 1984, and December 31, 1986."

"Canada was the first country to complete categorization of 23,000 legacy chemicals last September," added Minister Clement. "It will be the first, now, to take action. We have established clear priorities and now we are taking action to protect the health of Canadians."

"Moving forward, we will improve product labelling programs as well as deal with imported products which use chemical substances that are prohibited here in Canada," Minister Clement indicated.

Canada's New Government intends to commit $300 million over four years to implement the Chemicals Management Plan. To provide Canadians with the latest information about hazardous chemicals, the Government is also launching a new Web portal that can be found at http://www.chemicalsubstances.gc.ca.

---

The Prime Minister’s Office - Communications
[Note: You are receiving this e-mail for information only, and because you have subscribed to our distribution list. To modify your subscription or to have your name removed from the list, go to: (http://www.pm.gc.ca/eng/subscribe.asp?login)]