Canada Gazette, Part I, Volume 157, Number 5: Regulations Amending the Products Containing Mercury Regulations
February 4, 2023
(Erratum)
Statutory authority
Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999
Sponsoring departments
Department of the Environment
Department of Health
Notice is hereby given that in the English version of the above-mentioned Regulations published on pages 6182 and 6183 of the Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 156, No. 52, dated Saturday, December 24, 2022, the following paragraphs, which appeared under the heading “Dental amalgam,” contained errors and should have been written as follows:
- Some associations of Indigenous Peoples and other stakeholder groups expressed concerns over the lack of proposed amendments for dental amalgam and the associated health risks. The groups pointed out that other countries have banned dental amalgams completely or partially, mercury-free alternatives are widely available, and the Convention requires a phase-down of dental amalgams. Therefore, some stakeholders believe an exemption should only be allowed for specific medical cases.
- The Government of Canada supports the Convention’s phase-down approach to dental amalgam use and has met its obligations under the Convention through the implementation of various actions to minimize the need for dental restoration, reduce mercury releases to the environment from dental facilities, and restrict the use of dental amalgam to its encapsulated form. The reliance on dental amalgam in Canada has been declining steadily over the past decade, including a sharp 25% decline between 2016 and 2019. A further phase-down should occur in Canada with improved dental health promotion, disease prevention programs and further research into alternative restorative materials. Based on scientific evidence, including recent Canadian studies, the mercury that is absorbed from amalgams is not at a level of concern for most Canadians, regardless of the number of amalgam surfaces. The Government’s position is that the use of dental amalgams is safe and that mercury exposure from dental amalgams does not pose a health risk for the general population.