Information Update - What you need to know before importing unregistered pesticides for personal use

OTTAWA, Oct. 18, 2017 /CNW/ - If you're planning on bringing pesticides into Canada, you should know that Health Canada is changing the rules for importing pesticides for personal use.

Unregistered pesticides brought in from other countries have not been assessed for safety by Health Canada, and may not be labeled or packaged properly for safe use in Canada.

For this reason, the Pest Control Products Regulations are being updated to further protect the health, safety and environment of Canadians. 

What you should do

Starting April 18, 2018, you can no longer bring unregistered pesticides into Canada if they are not equivalent to those already registered in Canada for personal use in or around your home (i.e., Domestic Class products). An equivalent pesticide is one that has the same active ingredient in the same concentration.

In addition, you will no longer be allowed to purchase unregistered pesticides online and have them shipped to Canada. The purchaser of the product must bring it into Canada in person.

In addition, the updated regulations state that the pesticide must:

• not be an organism or a device
• not exceed 500 mL or 500 g in quantity
• be in original packaging with original label that must be in at least one official language
• be authorized for use as a pesticide in another country and bear the assigned authorization number

Canadians can use the Health Canada online pesticide label database to access all registered pesticides in Canada. They can also use the Pesticide Labels mobile app to search for registered pesticides by product name, active ingredient, registrant name, or full label contents.

Report health and safety concerns

All pesticide products that are registered for use in Canada have a Pest Control Product (PCP) registration number on the label. It is important to read the label on a pesticide carefully, as it also contains specific information on using the product safely.

Adverse events related to the use of a pest control product should be reported to the manufacturer, who is required by law to report it to Health Canada. You may also report an incident directly to Health Canada by completing an incident report form. For adverse reaction in pets, you can fill out a domestic animal incident form and return it by mail to the appropriate address.

For more information

• Pesticide Public Registry
• Keep your family safe when using pesticides
• Use pesticides safely
• Homeowner's Guidelines to Using Pesticides

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SOURCE Health Canada