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Quebec's strategy for managing ozone-depleting substances and their replacement products

7. Means of implementation

8. International Action by Québec


7. Means of implementation

Chosen approach

The chosen approach for the strategy is based on cooperation and recognition of the responsibilities of all stakeholders whatever the level (provincial and municipal governments, private and public enterprises). The approach is compatible with the directional nature of the Montréal Protocol in that it does not deny the regulating and unifying roles that the Ministry must assume in this area. The approach consists of using a careful combination of the various regulatory, economic and partnership components. This combination may prove optimal according to each measure chosen.

The means of implementation of the actions and initiatives deemed necessary in Québec’s new strategy to protect the ozone layer relate to three separate components: the regulatory component, the economic component and the partnership component. These components are not isolated, but interdependent. A good arrangement of these various components during the elaboration of the chosen measures should give rise to an effective, modern and innovative strategy.

The implementation of this strategy does not require adaptation measures, unlike the various strategies elaborated around the world and concerning climate changes. Scientists recognize that the integrity of the ozone layer can be replenished by applying the provisions of the Montréal Protocol as found in its amendments. Indeed, the total compliance of the countries that signed the protocol would make it possible to achieve this integrity towards 2050.

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Broad coverage of substances (ODS, HFCs and PFCs)

Coverage of all ODS

It is essential that all CFCs and HCFCs covered by the Montréal Protocol, as well as any combination of these substances be found in this strategy. A partial coverage of ODS might penalize certain sectors of users while benefiting others, which would be unfair. We must consider all ODS because all must eventually be eliminated and destroyed.

Coverage of replacement substances

It is important to not leave out hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which are the ultimate replacement substances of HCFCs, as well as perfluorocarbons (PFCs) which are increasingly replacing bromofluorocarbons (halons) in fire suppression applications. All of these replacement substances are powerful greenhouse gases and hence are detrimental to the atmosphere and the environment in general. It is important to continue impressing on the stakeholders concerned the importance of good environmental management by controlling the use of these replacement substances and by minimizing their atmospheric emissions. Although HFCs and PFCs are not ODS, they have the same commercial and industrial uses as ODS and concern the same user clienteles. Under such conditions, it would be very advisable for the Ministry to not create two different attitudes with respect to the management of these replacement substances among clienteles already concerned by ODS.

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Minimization of atmospheric emissions

The Federal-Provincial Working Group on controls harmonization (Ozone-Depleting Substances) has mandated consultants to produce codes of good practice in the refrigeration and air conditioning sector as well as in the fire protection sector. These are two activity sectors that are major sources of atmospheric emissions. In the case of refrigeration, the Environmental Code of Practice for elimination of fluorocarbon emissions from Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Systems proposes work methods that apply to the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors. For the fire protection sector, the Environmental Code of Practice on Halons describes halon management methods. These codes of good practice were published by Environment Canada in 1996.

To minimize atmospheric emissions, three measures appear relevant to the Ministry:

Recovery and recycling of ODS and their replacement products

It is essential that the industry continue to recover ODS and recycle them on site when work is done in order to avoid wherever possible large-scale emissions. The refrigeration and air conditioning industry has already begun to show more discipline in its actions since 1993; this industry must be encouraged to pursue its efforts. It is important to not break this habit acquired over the last five years and to extend this practice to replacement products, as they have the same commercial and industrial uses as ODS and concern the same clienteles.

Refilling/Topping up of defective equipment

The banning of certain practices that are detrimental to the environment must be ensured via the regulatory component. The refilling or topping up of defective equipment with ODS or replacement substances are two activities that occur on a regular basis without this being a violation of the current regulation. Such a situation is no longer acceptable within the context of this strategy. A legal framework must give equipment repair-persons a justification with their clientele for not filling defective equipment with ODS or another replacement substance until such time as the defective equipment has been repaired. This is a question of accountability and environmental protection. Moreover, this approach will ensure the optimal operation of the equipment which, over the long term, should translate into an economic gain for the customer.

Conversion to technologies that do not employ ODS

The use of ODS will also be restricted, wherever possible, to applications for which no replacement substance has been discovered or is available at a reasonable cost. In the last few years, several multinationals have put in place technological changes to do away with their dependence on ODS, which gives these corporations an undeniable competitive advantage. The Montréal Protocol, by reason of its strict timetables, has succeeded in bringing about "technological forcing" in several companies of various activity sectors. The Québec strategy intends to keep up the momentum created by the protocol’s tight and well-defined timetables to foster such "technological forcing" in Québec business firms.

Reporting of spills and large-scale emissions of ODS

The regulatory component should also ensure that the Ministry is informed of any emission or spill of ODS or of a replacement substance involving a quantity of 25 kg or more. This will allow the Ministry to track and quantify chance or accidental ODS spills and to make sure that the business firm in question has rectified the situation.

Use of refillable pressurized containers

Refrigerants are distributed and sold in containers of various sizes. For example, there are 9.1, 13.6 or 56.7 kg cylinders depending on the substance. Unfortunately, not all cylinders are returnable. A residual quantity of the substance (up to 10%) is always present in the cylinder, even when there is no longer sufficient pressure for this quantity to be useable. The inadequate dismantling or scrapping of these cylinders, considered empty, is a source of atmospheric emissions involving ODS.

Several provinces have already prohibited the sale and distribution of ODS in non-returnable cylinders. Ontario, New Brunswick and British Columbia have required that cylinders be refillable and returnable. Some provinces, New Brunswick for example, even require that the distributing firm impose a refundable private deposit. We believe that it is vital that Québec harmonize its provisions with those of its Canadian partners in this respect.

Most ODS manufacturers and distributors who use refillable containers have adopted a commercial policy whereby a refundable deposit is required for each cylinder put in circulation in the distribution network. The amount varies from $25 to $50 according to the cylinder size. From now on, the marketing of these substances in single-use, non-refillable containers will no longer be acceptable. Over the medium and long terms, this type of container represents a definite economic advantage for marketing these substances, as it can be reused over a period of several years and offers an undeniable environmental gain.

The Ministry plans to require that every ODS manufacturer or distributor doing business in Québec market its products in refillable pressurized containers, whatever the size. The significantly higher production cost for this type of container should ensure that the manufacturers and distributors of these substances will take the necessary steps to make sure that the cylinders are returned. Consequently, we do not consider it justified or relevant for the Ministry to set a minimum deposit.

Replacement of methyl bromide

Methyl bromide is a fumigant used to eliminate parasites in crops and agricultural products. Such a use represents a major source of emissions of this substance. Replacement substances have already appeared on the agricultural market. Under the Montréal Protocol, methyl bromide must be eliminated as replacement substances prove effective and less detrimental to the environment. The Ministry recognizes that the use of methyl bromide must be eliminated as soon as possible. The approval and banning of pesticides fall under federal jurisdiction. Under the Montréal Protocol, methyl bromide must be eliminated by no later than 2005.

In Québec, little use is made of methyl bromide, but sales of approximately 10 tonnes were reported to the Ministry in 1996 by Québec wholesalers and distributors. The Ministry promises to make sure with the federal government that methyl bromide is prohibited according to the adaptive capacity of Québec’s farming communities. The Ministry’s Service des pesticides et des eaux souterraines (Pesticide and Groundwater Service) is participating in the Federal-Provincial Working Group on pesticides and is coordinating the monitoring and updating of the Québec’s Pesticides Act.

Replacement of metered dose inhalers using CFCs

Over-the-counter and prescription drugs are excluded from the application of the Regulation respecting ozone-depleting substances. The CFCs used in metered dose inhalers serve as a propellant allowing the active ingredients to be inhaled or sprayed for the treatment of certain ailments, such as asthma and angina. Nowadays, there are metered dose inhalers without propellants or that employ HFCs, a new substance. The exclusion granted to CFCs in over-the-counter and prescription drugs is being called into question within the framework of international discussions.

In July 1998, Environment Canada and Health Canada published jointly the Canadian Initial Strategy for the Phase-out of Chlorofluorocarbon Use in Metered Dose Inhalers (MDIs). This strategy sets timetables for switching over to products without CFCs and requires from pharmaceutical companies reports on the progress made in the implementation of their new products and how these products are being received by medical authorities and patients. The objective of this Canadian strategy is to reduce the use of CFCs in metered dose inhalers by 60% between now and 2001, and by 100% in 2005.

There are metered dose inhalers with CFCs and others without CFCs on the Québec and Canadian markets. Given that alternative solutions to metered dose inhalers with CFCs are appearing in greater number on the market and as the commercial availability of CFCs is declining by reason of the restrictions imposed by the Montréal Protocol, we must promote and encourage the transition to new products. This transition will depend on the effectiveness of the product without CFCs, its purchase cost and its acceptability in the eyes of Québec and Canadian patients and medical communities. The transition to CFC-free metered dose inhalers may result in substantial costs for Québec’s Prescription Drug Insurance Program.

The ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs agrees to work in cooperation with the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux to facilitate the transition. The work of the two ministries will be devoted to identifying the measures that should be put forward to facilitate and promote the transition to CFC-free products without compromising the health of patients. This task will have to take into account the administrative and budgetary constraints of the health sector and reflect the initiatives already underway at the federal level.

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ODS and replacement product control mechanisms

We cannot devise a strategy for managing ODS and their replacement products without addressing the issue of the control of these substances which attack the ozone layer and place additional pressure on the environment. Various avenues are available to ensure an adequate control that will allow the Ministry to know the quantities in circulation, their major users and their distributors as well as the quantities stored and their location.

For several years now, the main Québec stakeholders involved in the sale and use of ODS have deplored the lack of control over these substances in Québec, unlike in the other Canadian provinces. We believe that the preparation of a new Québec strategy to protect the ozone layer is an opportunity to correct this shortcoming. The absence of a system for controlling these substances within the framework of this strategy would considerably undermine its credibility, especially as CFC smuggling made the headlines in the written and electronic press during the summer of 1997. Indeed, the press reported on the smuggling of CFCs to the United States from Montréal. Inspectors from Environment Canada and those from Customs and Excise Canada informed us of the existence of these smuggling operations. This situation highlights the lack of control over these substances in Canada and particularly in Québec.

Some European countries, such as France, have imposed a fee on ozone-depleting substances to fund recovery and recycling operations. An example closer to home is the United States which imposed a special tax on CFCs beginning in 1993. This tax has almost quadrupled the retail price of CFCs on the American market, but the proceeds go to the U.S. Treasury. In Canada, no environmental fee or charge associated with ODS has been imposed since the signing of the Montréal Protocol in 1987. To control the production and importing of ODS, Canada uses, like all of the other countries that signed the Montréal Protocol, a system of quota allocations which are distributed among producers and importers doing business in Canada. The distribution of quota allocations depends on the extent of the Canadian market occupied by the business firm and its sales in the previous year. The quota allocation system is the economic tool that is most widely used by signatory countries, in accordance with the protocol.

It would be very difficult to put in place an ODS fee system in Québec as such a measure could put Québec business firms at a major disadvantage. This type of measure is certainly more feasible at the Canadian level. The free flow of merchandise and the numerous possibilities for procuring supplies outside Québec would quickly render this Québec initiative ineffective. As a result, the creation of an exclusive environmental fee or charge in Québec, which would be deposited in a dedicated fund, would be problematic from an administrative standpoint and would considerably undermine the competitiveness of Québec’s business firms. However, other avenues are open to us and are presented below.

Control over the sale and use of ODS and their replacement products

Due to the relatively limited number of business firms involved in the sale and the relatively small number of activity sectors in which these substances are used, we believe that a stricter control over the sale and use could be implemented without too much difficulty. The Ministry could require sales permits for the distributors and wholesalers of these substances. The obtaining of these permits would be conditional upon meeting two requirements set by the Ministry. First, distribution firms and wholesalers would have to submit to the Ministry an annual report on their sales. Secondly, they would have to provide a list of their clients with the total quantities of ODS purchased. These two conditions would have to be met to obtain the sales permit. This control system would allow the Ministry to identify and delimit the route of entry of ODS into Québec.

As for industrial and commercial ODS users, a user permit would be necessary to ensure that they are properly identified. Industrial users consuming 500 kg or more of ODS or replacement products per year (plastic foam manufacturers, etc.) as well as refrigeration and air conditioning contractors would have to apply for a permit issued by the Ministry. The obtaining of this permit would also be conditional upon meeting a certain number of requirements. First, users would have to report on their annual consumption to the Ministry and identify their supplier. They would also have to report on the annual quantities of atmospheric emissions. Users might have to provide an emission factor corresponding to the nature of their manufacturing process. Major users are mainly found in the refrigeration and air conditioning manufacturing and plastic foam manufacturing fields. The permits could be valid for a three-year period. This approach is similar to the one adopted by New Brunswick and Manitoba.

Stewardship program

Such a program would make ODS wholesalers and distributors accountable for the total management of these products. Wholesalers would have the responsibility and the obligation of taking back substances which they marketed in order to recycle, reclaim or eliminate them adequately. However, they would be able to mandate a business firm to perform some of these operations. The key element of such a program is the fact that business firms remain responsible for their products at the end of the products’ useful life. Business firms would have to plan for the destruction of their scrapped products ahead of time. This program could be allied with the one currently proposed under the Québec Action Plan for waste management.

In the ODS management field, such a program was put in place by the refrigeration industry in Australia in 1992. This industry agreed to the creation of a non-profit organization mandated to offset the costs of recovering and recycling the product, and to apply a monetary contribution by kilogram of ODS sold, which is used to fund the organization. In France there is a similar initiative but in an unusual context. France’s territory is covered for the most part by two ODS distributors, one of which occupies approximately 80% of the French market. This major distributor reached an agreement with the members of its distribution network and its resellers to apply an additional amount (fixed fee per kilogram of ODS sold). The proceeds are used to fund the recovery network as well as the reclaiming operations carried out by the distributor. This is done with the consent of France’s Ministry of the Environment.

The industries that are most likely to be concerned by such an initiative are the refrigeration/air conditioning industry, the fire protection industry and the solvent industry. Such a program must be backed up by a regulation that ensures that wholesalers and distributors take back their substances for reclaiming and destruction. We believe that the putting in place of such a program would motivate the industry that produces and distributes these substances to contribute to the birth of a product reclaiming and destruction industry (see  "Destruction of existing CFC and halon stocks"). At this stage, it would be premature to define the mechanism used to set up such a program in Québec. However, it should be pointed out that Environment Canada is in the process of negotiating with ODS producers and importers to establish such a program in Canada. This federal body would support the eventual Canadian strategy to limit and prohibit the refilling of equipment with CFCs and halons, and to destroy these substances. Its application at the Canadian level, as opposed to an application by province, would facilitate management. Québec intends to favor such a program in order to take advantage of the economic spin-offs associated with an eventual ODS destruction industry.

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Environmental management of ODS and their replacement products

Reclaiming of recovered stocks

The large-scale industrial reclamation of ODS and replacement product stocks is not a commercial activity that has developed in Québec, despite the fact that Québec represents the second biggest ODS market in Canada. Aside from a few projects still at the feasibility stage and brought to our attention by the promoters, Québec industrialists have yet to seize the business opportunity ensuing from the restrictions on ODS production and use introduced by the Montréal Protocol and, consequently, the industry’s growing needs for reclaimed substances. In Canada, this activity takes place mainly in Nova Scotia, Ontario and Manitoba.

Since the coming into force of the Regulation respecting ozone-depleting substances, Québec users, namely refrigeration contractors and garage owners, have opted for small portable ODS recovery and recycling equipment. This equipment was available in North America and made it possible to treat small quantities of refrigerants slightly contaminated by elements such as moisture, oil and acid residues. This equipment was mainly marketed for the refrigeration and air conditioning sector as well as for the recycling of halons. The purification of recovered refrigerants through the use of a regeneration technology is not a generalized practice in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry in North America, unlike in the case of Europe. Refrigerants recovered in Québec, as elsewhere on the continent, are purified using small-scale recycling technologies (portable units), making it possible to obtain a minimal degree of purity. Minimal purification (recycling) of the recovered refrigerant, albeit generally sufficient for reuse in the original unit, does not permit the product’s reuse in other units, or a variety of uses. Moreover, when the contamination reaches high concentrations, this equipment is generally too slow and not efficient enough to purify large quantities of refrigerants. It is commonly accepted that the reclamation of refrigerants is the only possible treatment to restore the initial quality standards of the recovered refrigerant.

However, it should be pointed out that the Federal-Provincial Working Group on controls harmonization (ODS) has deemed it preferable not to recommend the establishment of a quality standard for reclaimed products at the Canadian level, as the requirements of industrial applications are varied. The group examined the question and agreed that it would be inappropriate and problematic to establish a level of quality for the regenerated products. The devices employing these substances are produced by a wide array of Canadian, European and American manufacturers for a variety of industrial applications with different quality requirements. It is preferable to leave it up to the user industry to determine the level of quality of regenerated products desired for each specific application.

Large-scale reclamation technologies are required in the refrigeration, air conditioning and solvent field to obtain a purification of ODS that meets the requirements of solvent manufacturers and users. Reclamation would allow Québec’s industry that uses ODS and their replacement products to reduce its consumption of first-time-use substances, thereby resulting in significant savings. The reclamation of these substances corresponds to a growing need while making it possible to obtain a quality of products applicable to a vast array of commercial and industrial uses. There are quality standards that have been established by American standardization bodies and that are used extensively by the industry all around the world. Moreover, the two codes of practice on refrigerants and halons that have been prepared in part by the Federal-Provincial Working Group refer to several recognized industrial standards, such as the ANSI/ASHRAE, ARI and SAE standards. These standards cover leak detection and refrigerant recycling or reclamation operations, as well as the purity requirements applicable to the treated substances.

In the United States, France and Australia, there are industrial-scale ODS reclamation facilities. An eventual Québec facility could also serve a portion of the Maritimes and Ontario market. The setting up of such an industry would make it possible to develop a Québec expertise and to create specialized jobs.

Destruction of existing CFC and halon stocks

Although the reclamation of CFCs and halons would meet real industry needs, it is harder to justify with the advent of new replacement substances. Indeed, the putting in place of ODS-free technologies means that users will have to deal with CFC and halon stocks that are no longer useful. There will be a growing surplus of these substances on the world and Canadian markets. To avoid an uncontrollable situation resulting from a sudden influx of large quantities of unused or unusable CFCs or halons slated for destruction over the next twenty years, the Federal-Provincial Working Group will propose to the CCME in the upcoming months a Canadian strategy that will gradually limit and prohibit the refilling of equipment that employs these two substances (CFCs and halons). The timetables will extend over a period that will vary according to the sectors. This will allow Canadian and Québec stakeholders to better plan the replacement or conversion of their equipment or facilities in order to abandon the use of CFCs or halons. This strategy will result in the development of a Canadian destruction industry and the creation of major networks to recover these substances. The ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs is responsible for ensuring that Québec will be able to eventually destroy its contaminated or excess CFC and halon stocks and, consequently, to take advantage of an eventual Canada-based destruction industry. The implementation of such a technology could result in specialized jobs. Moreover, this industry will eventually be able to take care of the destruction of HCFCs when the time comes to ban all their uses and to destroy all other unusable contaminated substances (HFCs and PFCs). Certain destruction technologies already exist and are used in the United States, Europe and Australia. Plasma technologies seem to offer an interesting potential. ODS producers and importers will have to contribute to the putting in place of such a strategy. Their financial participation is essential to fund the costs associated with the destruction of these substances which they marketed. The funding mechanisms will have to be negotiated with the business firms in question. This involves the application of the stewardship concept which consists of linking the manufacturers of these products to all stages of a good environmental management of their products, namely from the manufacture to the final elimination.

Québec’s strategy takes this aspect of the problem into account. Québec also plans to solicit the cooperation of the federal Department of the Environment to ensure that the question of the destruction of ODS is considered and is the subject of a position and a commitment that addresses the concerns of Québec.

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Training

Most emissions of ODS or their replacement products occur during handling. The putting in place of environmentally sound work practices is required for the users of such substances. The Ministry is convinced of the importance of training the labour force and promoting worker awareness. In Québec, there are several trades (secondary school) and techniques (college) that employ these substances. The practice of these trades or techniques may contribute to the deterioration of the environment, as it may be a source of emissions of ODS and, consequently, greenhouse gases. The Ministry will cooperate with the ministère de l’Éducation du Québec to ensure that training programs are reviewed to take into account the environmental concerns associated with these two major problems.

As for current workers, the Ministry intends to team up with union organizations, the ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale, the Commission de la construction du Québec (CCQ) and parity committees to offer employees training that will allow them to acquire the same level of environmental information as made available to new graduates. This is a question of fairness. Otherwise, workers who are no longer in the education network would eventually be at a disadvantage to their colleagues who are recent graduates.

Environmental certification of the labour force

Within the framework of Québec’s strategy to protect the ozone layer and to follow up on initiatives taken with the MEQ, the Ministry intends to reward or recognize the effort of the labour force that agrees to acquire training relating to the environmental impacts of their trades or techniques. To encourage and prompt workers to acquire advanced training, the Ministry plans to ensure, at the turn of 2000, that specific groups of workers and technicians hold an environmental certification issued in cooperation with the MEQ, the ministère de l’Emploi et de la Solidarité sociale or the CCQ. Needless to say, this environmental certification will automatically be issued to new graduates who will have completed a training program adapted to the environmental concerns already mentioned. The Ministry will propose that the government add to the government’s procurement policy a rule obliging departments to grant contracts to only those business firms that hire or employ personnel holding an environmental certification. This move should put pressure on workers and the business firms that hire them and, in so doing, create a context that is conducive to the acquisition of this environmental certification. The Ministry intends to make environmental certification mandatory if the industries in question offer their cooperation and consent to such an approach. The environmental certification of the labour force is part of a global approach that encompasses the control over the use of ODS and their replacement products.

Environmental certification of contractors

After much reflection and several consultations, the Ministry reached the conclusion that the environmental certification of certain categories of contractors whose work basically makes use of ODS or replacement products was justified to maintain the coherency of this strategy, in particular for refrigeration and fire protection system installation contractors who account for a good portion of the ODS consumed each year in Québec. This clientele falls under the authority of the Régie du bâtiment du Québec for the obtaining of a licence, which requires that the directors of the firm hold three regulatory accreditations: the technical accreditation, the administrative accreditation and the occupational health and safety accreditation. The Ministry believes that there is a need to add an environmental accreditation related to the depletion of the ozone layer and climate changes. As has already been mentioned, these two global problems have given rise to a very high level of concern around the world. The Ministry plans to cooperate with the Régie du bâtiment du Québec to ensure that the environmental accreditation is required at the turn of the year 2000 for every new applicant for a refrigeration or fire protection system installation contractor’s licence.

The Ministry will propose an amendment to the government’s procurement policy to ensure that government organizations and departments grant contracts only to certified business firms that hire competent personnel. Such a preference must however respect the principle of open markets and interprovincial commerce. An examination dealing with this environmental accreditation will be prepared in cooperation with the Régie du bâtiment du Québec. Those contractors that pass this examination will receive a mention on their licence confirming that they have obtained the environmental accreditation. The Ministry wants to use this approach to create a pressure and an economic motivation to prompt those contractors who already hold a licence to take advanced training and, in so doing, to obtain the missing environmental accreditation.

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Information intended for the public

Publications

To ensure that the strategy to protect the ozone layer is effective, it is essential that the public be informed of the phenomena involved and their impacts on the environment and human health. We must ensure that the Ministry’s initiatives and awareness promotion efforts are not limited to the specialized clientele of ODS users. The public must be informed of those elements that can be detrimental to human health and to their quality of life. Providing the public with information helps to increase the social acceptability threshold of certain industrial or commercial activities that are sources of pollution. Citizens, by way of their consumer choices, can contribute to a certain extent to the resolution of the ozone depletion problem. It is important that citizens receive appropriate information on consumer products manufactured with the help of ODS or containing such substances. The Ministry considers the public an ally and a key partner in the implementation of this strategy.

The public will be informed through the publication of brochures and pamphlets on the depletion of the ozone layer and its consequences. This public information campaign will also deal with the use of ODS in the various activity sectors as well as alternative solutions. We want to present to the public existing technological solutions to discourage the use of ODS in some industrial sectors. With this information, we hope that the public will support us when we ask the industry to implement technological changes to industrial processes that result in needless pollution and ODS emissions. The Ministry promises to publish a series of brochures on the main atmospheric issues including the depletion of the ozone layer and climate changes. Moreover, we intend to make known to the public and to the stakeholders subject thereto, Québec’s regulation respecting ozone-depleting substances. Finally, the Ministry will have to publicize its actions and initiatives as well as those of its partners pertaining to the protection of the ozone layer.

Programme Action-Environnement (environmental action program)

The Programme Action-Environnement is intended to fund projects related to environmental protection or wildlife conservation. Projects must be presented by non-profit organizations (NPOs). This program can offer funding for the launching of a project deemed relevant and meeting the program’s priorities. The same project can be funded only once (funding is non-recurrent). Projects dealing with the recovery, recycling and reclamation of ODS and equipment containing these substances are eligible for this program.

The Ministry agrees that projects to recover, recycle, convert and reclaim old low-performance kitchen appliances, functioning with ODS, can be part of the priorities of the Environmental action program. This equipment, which is still usable, will be reconditioned to ensure that there are no longer any leaks. It will then be offered to needy Québec families for a small fee. The Ministry will give financial support to community groups concerned about the main planetary issues of the day (depletion of the ozone layer and climate changes) and will encourage their tangible initiatives and social involvement.

Fonds des priorités gouvernementales en science et en technologie-volet Environnement(Government priorities fund in science and technology –Environment component)

The Fonds des priorités gouvernementales en science et en technologie-volet Environnement is a $6 million joint program spanning a four-year period and dedicated to environmental technology research and development. It is administered jointly by the ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs and the ministère de l’Industrie et du Commerce (MIC). This fund offers financial assistance for research into and the development of ODS or GHG reclamation or destruction technologies. It provides financial support for the implementation of existing technologies adapted to specific needs.

The Ministry agrees that the funding of research and development projects pertaining to ODS stock regeneration or destruction technologies is part of this program’s priorities. Through this commitment, the Ministry wants to demonstrate to the various industries its determination to anticipate and plan the regeneration and eventual destruction of ODS stocks and, in particular, of CFCs and halons over the short term, and of HCFCs over the long term.

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8. International Action by Québec

Participation and visibility at the international level

It is imperative that Québec take its rightful place at the international level in the environment field. This strategy will allow Québec to acquire full recognition as a serious player in the protection of the ozone layer and the environmental management of ODS and replacement products. The integration of these two main planetary problems and their overlapping with respect to reciprocal measures and impacts represent an original approach. Québec will have to join international discussion groups and forums on the management of the atmosphere and, in particular, on the protection of the ozone layer. We are mainly targeting countries of the francophonie, be it at the environmental, scientific or political levels. Indeed, we hope that this strategy will allow Québec to arouse the interest of its international and French-speaking partners. At the same time, the strategy may even give us the opportunity to take part in alliances or associations of francophone countries or governments for a better protection of the ozone layer.

Finally, Québec might contribute to the setting up of a fund to manage ODS and their replacement products in countries of French-speaking Africa. The Agence de coopération culturelle et technique (ACCT), an agency that is already operational, could direct Québec proposals dealing with the protection of the ozone layer within the francophonie.

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