Ontario’s Toxic Substances Bill

Government Bill 167, Toxics Reduction Act, 2009, received first reading in the Ontario Legislature yesterday; and the text of the bill is just now available in PDF and HTML on the Legislature website.

This is a substantial piece of legislation aimed at reducing and managing the use by industry of substances designated as “toxic,” and, as the preamble states in part, will require

owners and operators of facilities that use or create the substance to prepare, in specified circumstances, a toxic substance reduction plan for the substance. The plan must include certain matters specified in the Bill, including the objectives of the plan and a description of any steps that will be taken to reduce the use and creation of the substance at the facility.

The bill is avowedly modelled on the Massachusetts Toxics Use Reduction Act.