The Consumers Council of Canada believes that the proposals in Bill C-6, An Act Respecting the Safety of Consumer Products, would strengthen the Government of Canada's ability to protect Canadian consumers.
The specific changes that the Council sees protecting Canadian consumers include:
- The prohibition of a manufacturer or importer from manufacturing, importing, distributing, promoting or marketing a product that is or likely to be a danger to the health or safety of the public. The Council also believes that Health Canada should retain its current ability to develop safety regulations for specific products or classes of products but these prohibitions would allow Health Canada to undertake action even if no specific regulation for a product exists. The prohibitions follow the practices already in place in Europe, the United States and now the Province of Ontario.
- The power to compel consumer product recalls or other corrective measures, and carry out measures if industry does not cooperate. The ability to seize dangerous products, thereby removing them from the marketplace, enhances consumer protection. The Council believes that regulations regarding corrective action and recalls should be made. The regulations could address a number of issues such as when corrective action should be taken, the type of corrective action required, who would be responsible for planning and carrying out any corrective action, acceptable timelines and the evaluation of the effectiveness of any corrective action. The establishment of such regulations that provide the same authorities as exist in other jurisdictions will go a long way to resolving the inability of Health Canada to respond quickly and appropriately to dangerous products.
- The increase in fines and penalties, including administrative monetary penalties, will deter the existence of dangerous products in the market place and enhance consumer confidence in the marketplace. The Council believes that these fines and penalties should be applied to address the problem of deceptive labels or marks as occurs often with counterfeit products, and that the Act should make it an offence to falsely label a product to certify that it is in compliance with health or safety standards or regulations.
- The requirement of manufacturers and other suppliers to take necessary measures to ensure safety of consumer products, the mandatory reporting of defects and adverse events and mandatory record-keeping for traceability of products throughout supply chain will help to identify dangerous products at an early stage. It further strengthens the accountability of manufacturers for protecting Canadian consumers.
Furthermore, the authority of the government to assure consumer protection is enhanced by requiring tests and studies to verify product safety compliance.
In order for Health Canada to effectively govern the safety of consumer products, it requires the authorities and tools to detect, assess and address product hazards readily. Business requires a level playing field and good quality product safety information to identify hazards, to address product risks and to comply with regulations. Consumers also require good quality product safety information in order to take responsibility for preventing product related injuries and for maintaining products correctly. The Council believes that the provisions proposed for the Bill C-6 Canada Consumer Product Safety Act support the needs of all stakeholders and establish the key factors necessary for an effective product safety program.
