Pest Management Advisory Council - Call for Membership Applications

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Health Canada is seeking applications from stakeholders who have an interest in the Canadian pest management regulatory system to fill upcoming vacancies on the Pest Management Advisory Council (PMAC).

PMAC is a multi-stakeholder group that fosters communication and dialogue among stakeholders and with the Health Canada Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA), and provides advice directly to the Minister of Health on policies and issues relating to the federal pest management regulatory system. Decision making remains the responsibility of the PMRA.

The Council's mandate is to:

• provide recommendations on broad strategic directions, management, and overall priorities for the PMRA;
• provide a challenge function to ensure that PMRA programs are consistent with the needs of Canadians within the overall national and global environmental, social, and economic context;
• provide advice and a forum for the exchange of views of all key stakeholders on issues affecting the management of pest control products in Canada; and
• receive and review reports from Council working groups.

The Council membership is organized in such a way as to include a variety of perspectives and has representation from all of the following areas:

• Non-governmental organisations: health, environment, consumers;
• Industry associations: pesticide manufacturers, pesticide users;
• Academic experts in scientific disciplines relevant to pest management and pesticide regulation.

Members are appointed by the Minister of Health for terms that vary from one to three years. Members are reimbursed for expenses incurred during their work on the Council, such as travel and accommodation, according to the Treasury Board's policies. Members must participate as volunteers in order to be eligible for indemnification.

Selection Criteria

Consideration will be given to applicants who:

• are part of an organization that represents interests in the areas noted above, and
• represent an organization that has national scope, or is representative of other similar interest groups in Canada,

or

• are individuals, affiliated with an academic institution, who have scientific expertise in a field relevant to pesticides and/or pest management.

Preference will be given to Canadian citizens.

Applicants must be willing and available to participate in one meeting each year. The meeting is usually held over a two-day session in Ottawa, in the winter.

Members will be selected based on having expertise, experience and professional recognition relevant to the Council's mandate. For the Council as a whole, consideration will also be given to diversity including gender, language, and regional representation.

The complete Terms of Reference for the Council are posted on the Health Canada web site.

Please note that to be considered for an appointment, members and alternates will have to undergo government security clearance, complete an Affiliations and Interest Declaration Form and sign a Confidentiality Agreement. As a condition of membership, a summary of the affiliations and interests will be prepared and made publicly available. For additional information, please consult the Health Canada Policy on External Advisory Bodies, which is used as the guiding document for all advisory bodies.

How to Apply

All interested organizations are encouraged to support more than one individual applicant to potentially represent them. This will assist in the identification of members and permanent alternates and help Council achieve diversity in representation.

A complete application should include:

• Membership application form
• Cover letter with statement of interest
• Biographical sketch
• Curriculum vitae
• A letter of support from your organization, if applicable

The application should be submitted by mail, priority courier, or by email by July 12, 2013.

Amy Hunt
PMAC Secretariat Officer
Pest Management Regulatory Agency
Health Canada
Sir Charles Tupper Building
2720 Riverside Drive
Address locator: 6604E
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0K9

If you have any questions about this process, please contact the PMAC Secretariat by phone at 613-736-3749 or by email.

We encourage those who see this call for application to help us distribute it as widely as possible. Please feel free to share this call with institutions and individuals who might be interested in posting and/or responding to it, or you can advise the PMAC Secretariat if there are others whom you suggest to be approached.