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The Canadian Consumer Product Safety Act, Bill C-36 - December 2010
On December 15th, 2010, the Canadian Government announced that Bill C-36, also known as the Canadian Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) was given Royal Assent and officially became Canadian Law.
The new CCPSA was designed to "modernize and strengthen product safety laws by overhauling existing rules" with the purpose of providing "stronger, more effective protection" for Canadian consumers. Health Canada states it intends to achieve these by:
- The prohibition of the manufacture, importation, advertisement or sale of any consumer products that pose an unreasonable danger to human health or safety.
- The imposition of requirements on industry to report knowledge of a serious incident, or death related to their product and to provide the Canadian government with timely information about important product safety issues.
- The requirement for manufacturers or importers to furnish test/study results on products upon request.
- Health Canada's empowerment to recall dangerous consumer products.
- The raising of fines and penalties for non-compliance.
A key feature of the CCPSA is that it further enhances the Canadian government's ability to take action when consumer products introduced to those markets pose or are likely to pose, unreasonable danger to human health or safety. It is in fact a "new legislative regime" allowing Canada's government to mandate product recalls when necessary.
This bill replaces Part I and Schedule I of the Canadian Hazardous Products Act (HPA) but leaves Parts II and III of the HPA unaltered and in effect. Part I and Schedule I of the HPA deals with consumer products. Though there are differences in structures between the HPA and the CCPSA, Health Canada notes that any regulatory amendments will not result in any new regulatory requirements for industry at this time.
Health Canada details more specifically how certain prohibitions and regulations will transfer from the HPA to the CCPSA, and has committed to an "accelerated implementation plan" in coming months to enforce the new CCPSA. The Canadian government intends to foster a smooth transition by engaging both Industry and Consumers in active communication about new obligations, in force dates and how the legislation will affect both sectors respectively.
Canada's newly instituted regulation is sure to draw comparisons against the United States' Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act (CPSIA) which has given tough sanctions on consumer products, especially those relating to children. While the CCPSA sets forth penalties for non-compliance in no uncertain terms, it has not ordered mandatory testing for products in the same manner the US CPSIA has.
For more information on the CPPSA, access http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/legislation/acts-lois/ccpsa-lcspc/prohibitions-interdictions-eng.php
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