Amendments to Domestic Substances List

Summary#

Order 2023-66-10-01 Amending the Domestic Substances List updates Canada’s chemical inventory under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The order was registered on November 8, 2023 and published in the Canada Gazette on November 22, 2023. It adds and edits entries for a number of chemicals and a few listed organisms.

What it does#

• Adds multiple chemical entries to Part 1 of the Domestic Substances List (new CAS-numbered substances were inserted).
• Removes several items from Part 3 and replaces the descriptions for many other Part 3 substances (this mainly clarifies or changes how some listed polymers and related substances are described).
• Changes entries under Part 5 (the “Organisms” section), re‑ordering and marking a set of cold-adapted influenza strains and several modified viral vectors.
• Updates one entry in Part 7 by changing a listing to include an “N” marker.
• States that the order comes into force on the day it is registered (registered November 8, 2023).

Who's affected#

• Companies that manufacture, import or sell the chemicals newly added or whose entries were changed.
• Laboratories, formulators and downstream users who handle these specific substances.
• Developers and users of the listed biological agents (for example, some vaccine and biotechnology developers) because organisms in Part 5 were updated.
• Federal regulators and anyone who watches the Domestic Substances List to track which substances are treated as “existing” in Canada.

If it’s unclear whether a specific chemical or organism you work with is affected, the full order lists the exact CAS numbers and organism names and should be checked.

Why it matters#

• The Domestic Substances List is the federal inventory used to track substances in Canada. Changes to the list affect which substances are treated as already existing in Canada.
• Being added or having an entry changed can influence whether a business needs to notify regulators, submit information, or follow certain assessment or reporting paths under federal chemical rules.
• Updates to the organisms list can be relevant for clinical, research and vaccine work where regulatory status of specific viral vectors or strains matters.
• Businesses and researchers who work with the named substances or organisms should review the order to see if it affects their regulatory responsibilities.