The ''Canada Consumer Product Safety Act'' is an Act of the Parliament of Canada that passed into law on December 14, 2010. This law replaced Part I of the ''Hazardous Products Act''. It was originally introduced in the 2nd session of the 39th Parliament of Canada as Bill C-52. It died in committee when the

2008 Canadian federal election The 2008 Canadian federal election was held on October 14, 2008, to elect members to the House of Commons of Canada of the 40th Canadian Parliament after the previous parliament had been dissolved by Governor General Michaëlle Jean on Sept ...

was called, but was reintroduced in the second session of the 40th Parliament of Canada as Bill C-6 and was passed by both houses of Parliament but did not receive royal assent before Parliament was

prorogued A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections ...

. It was introduced for a third time in the third session of the 40th Parliament as Bill C-36. The legislative package amended the ''Hazardous Products Act'' (HPA) to regulate consumer products under the ''Canada Consumer Product Safety Act''. These bills are a result of increased consumer concern over consumer products, such as children's toys, which have been the subject of recalls over the past few years. Canada's ''Hazardous Products Act'' had not been updated in over 40 years. Canada's regulatory system has not kept pace with the global economy and increasing amounts of international trade. The Minister of Health, for example, currently doesn't have the power to force the recall of faulty or counterfeit products in Canada.

Support for improving Consumer Product Safety

Health Canada consulted widely with industry and consumer groups over a period of several years before bringing forward the Consumer Product Safety Action Plan. Health Canada regularly issues warnings, advisories and information updates to advise consumers of products on the market which contain toxic substances such as

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

, mercury or

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, ...

; or are otherwise contaminated by dangerous and unhealthy substances. However under the previous legislation, the

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental health. Coun ...

has no power to compel recall of these products. For example, Health Canada posted just over 300 recall notices in 2009. Roughly one third of these were for children's products. In 2009, about 1.5 million consumers were affected by crib recalls alone.

Footnotes

External links

Consumer Product Prohibitions and Regulations under the Proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act
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Key Elements of the Proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act
Canadian federal legislation Product safety 2010 in Canadian law Consumer protection legislation Consumer organizations in Canada