RE: Bill C-52  ~ Proposed New Product Safety Legislation 

Sharon ,
 
The position of the Canada Safety Council on the proposed new product safety legislation (Bill C-52) is that the proposed new legislation is not needed. The government could have simply built upon the current law, namely, the Hazardous Product Safety Act, in place for over 35 years. That legislation over time has served the public health and safety needs of Canadians extremely well, albeit one would not deny parts of it are now deficient/inadequate to deal with the current realities of the international marketplace.

It should be noted that a report dated February 2007 commissioned by Health Canada warned the Act was outdated and inadequate. But the government did not act upon that report to strengthen the regulations in the legislation until very late last year, and only after the public became aware of and were victimized by the debacle of dangerous products being imported into Canada on such a massive scale from China .

The proposed new legislation will not be on the books for years. What happens to product safety in the interim? This proposed new legislation, in the interests of public health and safety, must be scrapped!  The Hazardous Products Act must be amended with appropriate regulations and penalties to reflect current and future needs--and in a less time-consuming and less costly process. This must become an immediate priority.

For the record, amendments to existing legislation occur on a regular basis. Witness the changes to the Criminal Code by the House of Commons on April 9, 2008 to combat cruelty to animals.  Laws, to be effective must be enforced. This requires adequate resources, financial, human and otherwise. It, as the China debacle has shown, is a false economy to cut back on safety.  

Emile Therien,
Ottawa ,  Ontario

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