Chemical import conditions and Ivory Gull habitat

Summary#

• The government has issued Ministerial Condition No. 22106 under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 that allows a specific chemical — bicyclo[2.2.1]hept-5-ene-2-carboxylic acid, 2-[[[[[(isocyanatophenyl)methyl]phenyl]amino]carbonyl]oxy]ethyl ester (Chemical Abstracts Service Registry Number 2410511-02-1) — to be manufactured or imported, but only under set conditions.
• The government also gave notice that critical habitat for the Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) identified in the Recovery Strategy for the Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) in Canada and located inside the Naujavaat Bird Sanctuary will get the protections of the Species at Risk Act in 90 days after publication.

What it does#

• For the chemical (Ministerial Condition No. 22106):
  • Allows the named notifier (the company or person who submitted required information on January 29, 2025) to manufacture or import the substance, but only under the listed conditions.
  • Prohibits importing or manufacturing the substance for use in a consumer product if it is present in an uncured form.
  • Allows the substance in consumer products only if it is chemically reacted into a stable matrix and cured during manufacture.
  • Requires the notifier to inform, in writing, anyone they transfer the substance to about these conditions and obtain written confirmation that downstream users will not use it to make consumer products unless it is reacted and cured.
  • Establishes record-keeping rules about how much is made, moved, who receives it, and copies of confirmations; records must be kept for at least five years and be kept in Canada.
  • These ministerial conditions come into force on June 23, 2025.
• For the Ivory Gull habitat:
  • States that subsection 58(1) of the Species at Risk Act will apply to the critical habitat described in the recovery strategy that lies within the Naujavaat Bird Sanctuary.
  • That protection begins 90 days after the notice’s publication.

Who's affected#

• Chemical rules:
  • The unnamed notifier (the party that filed information on January 29, 2025).
  • Companies that import, manufacture, distribute, or receive this specific chemical.
  • Manufacturers of consumer products that might use this chemical — they cannot use it uncured in products and must ensure it is cured in a stable matrix if they do use it.
  • Regulators and inspectors who will check compliance and records.
• Ivory Gull habitat protection:
  • People and organizations carrying out activities inside the Naujavaat Bird Sanctuary in Nunavut.
  • Communities, researchers, and any operators whose work overlaps the gull’s critical habitat.
  • The notice also relates to the species’ range in Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and Newfoundland and Labrador, though the specific legal protection named applies to the area inside the Naujavaat sanctuary.

Why it matters#

• The chemical conditions aim to limit the risk of exposure from the substance entering consumer products in an uncured form. They also create a paper trail (written notices and records) so regulators can track who makes, imports, or receives the substance.
• The Ivory Gull item brings legally stronger protection to breeding habitat inside a federally managed bird sanctuary. That can affect permitted activities and planning in that area and is part of efforts to help recover an endangered arctic bird.