PFAS Class Added to CEPA Schedule 1

Summary#

On March 8, 2025, the government published the Order Adding a Toxic Substance to Part 2 of Schedule 1 to the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. It adds the class of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), excluding fluoropolymers, to Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999. The order itself does not ban products or impose new rules now. It simply allows the government to propose future controls and pollution-prevention measures.

What it does#

• Adds the class described as “compounds that contain at least one fully fluorinated methyl or methylene carbon atom” (PFAS), with fluoropolymers excluded for separate review, to Part 2 of Schedule 1 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999.
• Gives the Ministers (the Department of the Environment and the Department of Health) formal authority to develop risk-management actions under the Act for this whole class of PFAS. Those actions could include pollution-prevention measures or prohibitions later on.
• Does not itself create any new legal requirements, fees, or bans. Any specific rules would come later and would be consulted on separately.
• The item follows public consultation. The process received over 370 submissions on the draft materials and over 75 submissions on an updated draft.

Who's affected#

• Companies that make, import, sell or use PFAS-containing products. Common uses include:
  • certain firefighting foams (like AFFF) and related training sites;
  • grease-proof food packaging and other food-contact materials;
  • textiles and carpets (stain- and water-repellents);
  • cosmetics, some medical devices and drugs;
  • industrial uses such as surfactants, lubricants and processing aids.
• Federal, provincial and municipal governments that handle contaminated sites, drinking-water testing, wastewater, biosolids and disposal. The RIAS notes more than 100 federal contaminated sites with known or suspected PFAS contamination.
• Consumers and communities who may be exposed to PFAS through drinking water, food, dust or consumer products.
• Small businesses and others who use PFAS-containing inputs. (The order itself does not impose new costs on businesses; specific measures later could.)

If it is unclear who will be affected by a future rule, say so: the order covers the whole PFAS class (except fluoropolymers), so the exact list of affected products and users will depend on whatever specific risk-management measures the government later proposes.

Why it matters#

• PFAS are often called “forever chemicals” because they persist in the environment and can build up in people and wildlife. Listing them as toxic for the purposes of the Act is a key step toward tighter controls.
• This order enables future actions that could restrict or phase out PFAS uses, affect product formulation, require cleanup at contaminated sites, or change what can be imported or sold in Canada.
• It aligns Canada with growing international efforts to limit PFAS, but does not itself change trade or product rules until separate regulations are made.
• For now, nothing changes immediately for consumers or businesses — but anyone using or selling PFAS-containing products should expect consultations and possible future restrictions.