Environment and Climate Change Canada, CEPA Registry
Application under section 17 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act: acknowledgement dated 2 September, a file number, the officer, a report in 90 days.
The letter ·
Re: Application for investigation under section 17 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 — gene-edited plants manufactured or imported without notification under subsection 106(1)
Hello,
On 2 September 2026 I applied to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change under section 17 of the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 for an investigation. The application named 11 gene-edited organisms taken from the department's own published lists and from the Health Canada list, and it alleged that each was manufactured or imported in Canada without the notification required by subsection 106(1).
Section 18 states that the Minister shall acknowledge receipt of the application within 20 days of the receipt. Those 20 days ended today, and no acknowledgement has been issued. The only reply on this file is an automatic message from the Inquiry Centre dated 2 September 2026.
The application meets section 17(2). A solemn declaration states my name, my address, my age and my residence in Canada. Persons alleged to have contravened the Act are named, and the concise statement of the evidence is drawn from 2 official publications of the Government of Canada.
I require the following.
1. Written acknowledgement of receipt bearing 2 September 2026 as the date of receipt, a file number, and the name of the officer holding the file.
2. The first report under section 19, due 90 days from the acknowledgement, stating the progress of the investigation and the action taken or proposed.
3. Where the Minister discontinues the investigation, the report under section 21 stating the information obtained and the reasons for discontinuation.
I require item 1 by 29 September 2026.
A failure to acknowledge an application under section 17 is a failure of a duty the Act places on the Minister in plain words. The environmental petition covering these same 3 guidance decisions is already with the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development, and the Office of the Auditor General confirmed on 22 September 2026 that it is being forwarded to Environment and Climate Change Canada for a Minister's response. This correspondence goes into that record, and to the Standing Committee on Environment and Sustainable Development.
Respectfully,
Danilo Dzyuban
No answer by 29 Sept