How do the ODS Regulations work?
Under the Montreal Protocol, countries agreed to distinguish between methyl bromide used in quarantine and pre-shipment applications (Q/P) and methyl bromide used in all other fumigant applications. Furthermore, it was agreed to limit the quantities of methyl bromide produced and traded for other fumigant applications to the levels that existed in 1991. At present, the quantities used for quarantine and pre-shipment applications are not restricted. Methyl bromide provisions in Canada’s ODS Regulations were written: • to ensure that the total quantity of methyl bromide imported for use in fumigant applications other than Q/P does not exceed the amount allowed under Montreal Protocol. (Starting in 1998, that quantity is reduced gradually until 2005); and, • to ensure that methyl bromide imported into Canada for quarantine and pre-shipment applications is used only for those purposes. To accomplish this, the ODS Regulations: • establish two separate systems governing imports: • a “permit”
