Arsenic Air Objectives and Chemical List Changes

Summary#

This Canada Gazette, Part I issue (published May 23, 2026) collects several short federal notices. Key items include an amendment removing three substances from the Non‑domestic Substances List, a public consultation by Health Canada on proposed health-based air quality objectives for arsenic, a one-person designation at the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, a consultation by Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada on tower siting and reporting, and a set of open federal appointment opportunities announced by the Privy Council Office.

What it does#

• Order 2026-87-05-02 Amending the Non‑domestic Substances List: deletes these three CAS numbers from Part I of the Non‑domestic Substances List — 9011-12-5, 65870-97-5, 68525-95-1. The order comes into force when the related domestic-list order does.
• Health‑based air quality objectives (HBAQOs) for arsenic (public consultation):
  • Publishes proposed non‑regulatory HBAQOs for inorganic arsenic (as elemental As).
  • Proposes a short-term objective of 0.2 µg/m3 averaged over 1 hour, and a long-term (annual) range of 0.001–0.01 µg/m3.
  • Consultation document available starting May 22, 2026; comments are invited for 60 days.
• Designation: names Jessica Calvert of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a fingerprint examiner (notice dated April 28, 2026).
• Telecom consultation (Notice No. DGSO-001-26): Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada proposes updates to Client Procedures Circular CPC-2-0-03 about antenna/tower siting, public notification and an online tower information system. Comments due July 16, 2026; reply comments due August 25, 2026.
• Governor in Council appointment opportunities: the Privy Council Office published a list of open application windows for many federal board and agency positions (various closing dates in May–June 2026).

Who's affected#

• Chemical importers, manufacturers, and anyone who tracks industrial chemicals: the three deleted CAS entries could affect reporting or assessment steps for those specific substances. The source lists the CAS numbers; it does not detail why they were removed.
• People living near smelters, mines, incinerators, or wildfire-prone areas, and public health and municipal air-quality staff: the proposed arsenic HBAQOs are intended to guide monitoring and health-protection decisions.
• The Royal Canadian Mounted Police forensic/identification operations and parties in criminal matters where fingerprint evidence is used (routine personnel designation).
• Telecom companies, tower builders, municipal planners, and neighbourhoods near existing or proposed towers: the ISED consultation could change public notification and reporting for tower construction and sharing.
• Canadians interested in public service governance: those who want to apply for Governor in Council positions listed by the Privy Council Office.

Why it matters#

• Changes to chemical lists can change which substances are flagged for assessment, reporting, or different regulatory attention — that can affect businesses that make or use those substances and communities near operations.
• The arsenic HBAQOs are non‑binding but influential: they provide science-based targets that provinces, cities, industry and health agencies can use to evaluate and reduce air exposure, especially near industrial sources.
• The tower-siting consultation could affect how and when communities learn about new towers, and may lead to more public data about tower locations and sharing arrangements.
• The fingerprint-examiner designation and the series of appointment notices are mostly routine, but they matter for how government services are staffed and how criminal evidence is handled.