Law won't specify action to fight 'gender-benders'

By Tom Spears Copyright 1998 Ottawa Citizen November 27, 1998

The Commons committee updating Canada's main pollution law has stopped short -- by one vote -- of spelling out a way to regulate "gender-bender" chemicals that trick the body's reproductive system.

The Environment committee has already added a definition of these so-called endocrine disruptor chemicals to the law, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.

It has also added a requirement that Environment Canada study the chemicals and their potential health effects on humans and wildlife.

But yesterday they voted down a proposal by Conservative environment critic John Herron that would have authorized environment ministers to regulate the gender-benders once they're found to be harmful.

"It's nice to recognize we have a problem," said Mr. Herron. "Wouldn't we like to let the minister do something to ensure that harmful substances don't get into the environment?"

The government says the law can already control any chemical pollutant that harms the health of people or wildlife.

"We think those words are broad enough," said Liberal MP Paddy Torsney, parliamentary secretary for the environment. "If it has a health effect, boom."

She said trying to define each individual kind of pollutant is dangerous because this approach could miss something and leave gaps in the law.

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