2024 Federal Provincial Territorial Radiation Protection Committee (FPTRPC) Meeting Summary

The Federal Provincial Territorial Radiation Protection Committee (FPTRPC) aims to advance the development and harmonization of practices and standards for radiation protection within federal, provincial, and territorial jurisdictions, and to communicate these to the people of Canada. This supports the shared responsibility of federal and provincial/territorial governments to keep Canadians safe from unnecessary radiation exposure.

The committee includes representatives from

• Health Canada (Environmental and Radiation Health Sciences Directorate);
• Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC), Directorate of Environmental and Radiation Protection and Assessment; and
• various ministries in the provinces and territories.

The Department of National Defence also takes part, and Employment and Social Development Canada’s Labour Program acts as an observer.

The committee meets every year to allow radiation protection regulatory officials from across Canada to share information, discuss challenges, and recommend courses of action. The latest meeting took place virtually on October 8th through 10th, 2024. It was hosted by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC).

Last year, a new format was trialled to allow for more engagement. Provincial and territorial members in attendance presented brief updates for their region and then had focussed discussions on specific topics. This provided a better opportunity for understanding regional differences and sharing best practices regarding nationwide issues.

Discussion topics included the following: 

• encountering X-ray requests for use outside authorization
• emerging issues in radiation emitting devices (plus an update on lasers)
• mobile/portable devices and regional legislation
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) General Safety Requirements (Part 3) and their implementation in legislation
• other government officials making decisions/orders with consequences

The meeting also included presentations on various items of interest. These included an update on radiofrequency electromagnetic fields (RF-EMF) activities from Health Canada, details on the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) Medical Exposure Survey, and an update from the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP).

During the annual business meeting, members heard reports from the various working groups and discussed trends in their jurisdictions. The executive members for 2024–25 are as follows:

• federal co-chair – Narine Martel, Health Canada
• federal co-chair – Caroline Purvis, Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission
• alternate federal co-chair – Keith Henderson, Health Canada
• provincial/territorial co-chair – Ingvar Fife, CancerCare Manitoba
• provincial/territorial vice co-chair – Madelaine Fedorowich, Ontario Ministry of Labour Immigration, Training, and Skills Development
• past provincial/territorial co-chair – Brent Preston, Saskatchewan Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety

If you would like more information about FPTRPC activities, please visit the Health Canada website.