Government Relations & Regulatory Affairs

Government relations and regulatory affairs occur on many levels. Companies in the chemical sector especially have seen the regulatory compliance landscape evolve in recent years with no end in sight. All coatings companies must focus on meeting EHS and stewardship regulations. This presents challenges for companies in terms of their need to ensure full compliance in all jurisdictions in which they operate.

For CPCA’s work to be successful on compliance, it must have full engagement by members, indeed the entire industry, to ensure relevant data is available in support of evidence-based decisions by governments. That data is even more critical as regulations are being developed. To assist in that effort the work of the technical committees and working groups are essential for better outcomes. CPCA’s work in this area helps member companies perform important functions to achieve full compliance.  

Non-compliance
is NOT an Option

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Assess compliance requirements

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Exercise due diligence in data collection

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Fulfill mandatory reporting requirements

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Provide comprehensive data management

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Sustain critical supplier & customer relationships

 
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Ensure data validation & CBI protection

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Support essential internal training

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Mitigate risk as part of overall enterprise risk management

 

How companies address these functions will shape how their products are viewed in the marketplace. Companies use cross-functional departments and multiple employees to meet their compliance requirements. CPCA seeks to help companies in this regard with the help of a comprehensive Canada CoatingsHUB. This helps ensure that evidence-based data on all chemicals in commerce for coatings is available and used to ensure full compliance with both existing regulations and those under development. Non-compliance leads to fines, damage to brand reputation and erosion of a company’s social license to operate.

 

Focused Advocacy

Advocacy is necessary to ensure that the paint and coatings sector is represented with governments and key stakeholders. There are many actions taken by industry to ensure the sector is corporately responsible with respect to health, safety and the environment. The industry also provides sound investment and good jobs for workers across Canada as CPCA’s recent economic impact study revealed. CPCA engages in grassroots advocacy and lobbying to bring members together with local, provincial and federal decision-makers.

Analytical and Technical Support

Technical Committees are the backbone of the Association. They are made up of member representatives who fully understand key sector issues. This critical knowledge helps inform staff and the Board on the appropriate strategies with respect to industry-specific advocacy approaches. CPCA provides the following services to ensure members are fully engaged on relevant files:

  • Technical briefings on current and emerging issues
  • Statistical data with specific information by market segment
  • Technical committees providing sector positions on legislation and regulation
  • Issue-specific working groups to support key positions and policies
  • Updated information database providing real-time updates on issues for members
 
 

Proactive Government Relations

While advocacy is viewed as general communication with public stakeholders. Equally compelling is the need to interact with specific levels of government given that the paint and coatings industry is a highly regulated sector. As such, members need to ensure they fully understand policies and programs at both the federal and provincial level in terms of impacts on their business. Often a proactive government relations effort can lead to fewer regulations for the sector or, at the very least, minimize negative impacts on business. Key activities include:

  • Government relations strategies for current and emerging issues
  • Business to government advocacy connecting members directly with policy makers
  • Analytically-based case preparation promoting evidence-based decision-making
  • Issue briefings and materials required to make a strong case for industry
  • Sector strategies that allow industry to meet its business objectives, while allowing government to meet public policy objectives

Legislative and Regulatory Affairs

CPCA activities on behalf of members with respect to legislative and regulatory affairs include:

  • Legislative consultations with members and government
  • Member participation in regulatory consultations with key stakeholders
  • Technical bulletins containing government updates on regulatory and legislative changes, compliance information and more to remain compliant
  • Bi-weekly regulatory updates reporting on municipal, provincial, national and international regulatory activities
  • Technical advice on compliance with new and existing regulations
  • Enforcement information and updates required for compliance
  • Environmental scans of issues, legislation, regulations and government policy
 

A recent study on the State of Compliance revealed that maintaining timely and relevant information to support evolving regulations was listed as the most challenging aspect of training and education programs. This was followed by the ability to provide educational support to suppliers and to track improvements over time.

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