The Standing Senate Committee on Social Affairs, Science and Technology

has the honour to present its

TWELFTH REPORT

Your committee, to which was referred Bill C-6, An Act to respecting the safety of consumer products, has, in obedience to the order of reference of Wednesday, October 7, 2009, examined the said Bill and now reports the same with the following amendments:

1. Page 4, clause 2: Replace lines 19 and 20 with the following:

““review panel” means an individual or individuals designated as an independent review panel under section 33.”.

2. Page 5, clause 7: Replace lines 23 and 24 with the following:

“section 30 or is the subject of a”.

3. Page 6, clause 8: Replace lines 2 and 3 with the following:

“section 30 or is the subject of a”.

4. Page 8, clause 14: Replace line 10 with the following:

“including a serious injury, and that occurred under circumstances that indicate that the product may pose a danger to human health or safety; ”.

5. Page 9, clause 15:

(a) replace lines 12 and 13 with the following:

“15. (1) The Minister may disclose personal information related to a consumer product to a person or a government that”; and

(b) replace lines 17 to 19 with the following:

“relates if

(a) the disclosure is necessary to identify or address a serious danger to human health or safety; and

(b) the person to whom or government to which the information may be disclosed agrees in writing to maintain the confidentiality of the information and to use it only for the purpose of carrying out those functions.

(2) The Minister shall provide prior notice of the intended disclosure to the individual to whom the personal information relates unless doing so would endanger human health or safety.

(3) If the Minister discloses personal information under subsection (1) without providing prior notice, he or she shall, as soon as practicable but not later than six months after the disclosure, notify the individual to whom the personal information relates.”.

6. Page 9, clause 16:

(a) replace line 20 with the following:

“16. (1) The Minister may disclose confidential”;

(b) replace line 27 with the following:

“relates if the”; and

(c) add after line 32 the following:

“(2) The Minister may make a disclosure under subsection (1) only for the purpose of protecting human health or safety or the environment.

(3) The Minister shall provide prior notice of the intended disclosure to the person to whose business or affairs the information relates unless doing so would endanger human health or safety or the environment.

(4) If the Minister discloses confidential business information under subsection (1) without providing prior notice, he or she shall, as soon as practicable but not later than six months after the disclosure, notify the person to whose business or affairs the information relates.”.

7. Pages 11 and 12, clause 20:

(a) on page 11, replace line 19 with the following:

“by means of or in relation to which the inspector believes on reasonable grounds any provision of this Act or the regulations has been contravened, or”; and

(b) on page 12, replace line 9 with the following:

“property.”.

8. Pages 12 and 13, clause 21:

(a) on page 12,

(i) replace line 17 with the following:

“20(1) is an office or a dwelling-house, an inspector may not”,

(ii) replace line 24 with the following:

“person who is named in it to enter an office or a dwelling-”,

(iii) replace line 27 with the following:

“(a) the office or dwelling-house is a place described in”,

(iv) replace line 29 with the following:

“(b) entry to the office or dwelling-house is necessary”, and

(v) replace line 32 with the following:

“(c) entry to the office or dwelling-house was refused”; and

(b) on page 13, add after line 9 the following:

“(5) In this section, “office” means a self-contained room or place that is used as a business office, but does not include a room or place in which a consumer product is manufactured, packaged, stored, advertised to the public, sold, labelled, tested or transported.

(6) For the purposes of subsection (5), “sold” means exposed for sale, lease, or distribution to one or more persons, or in possession for the purposes of sale, lease, or distribution to one or more persons.”.

9. Pages 14 and 15, clause 30:

(a) on page 14,

(i) replace the heading “INSPECTORS’ ORDERS” preceding clause 30 with the following:

“ORDERS”, and

(ii) in clause 30,

(A) replace line 30 with the following:

“30. (1) Subject to this section, if the Minister believes on reason-”, and

(B) replace line 32 with the following:

“danger to human health or safety, he or she may”; and

(b) on page 15, add after line 2 the following:

“(3) Before making an order under subsection (1), the Minister shall issue a notice of opportunity for voluntary recall to the person

(a) stating the nature of the order that the Minister intends to make and a summary of the reasons for so intending;

(b) requesting that the person undertake a voluntary recall of the consumer product, or voluntarily carry out other measures that, in the opinion of the Minister, would be equally effective in addressing the danger to human health or safety posed by the product, within the specified time; and

(c) specifying the time within which the voluntary recall or other measures must be carried out.

(4) The Minister may not make an order under subsection (1) unless the person refuses the request contained in the notice or fails to carry out the voluntary recall or other measures within the specified time.

(5) Subsection (3) or (4) does not apply if the Minister believes on reasonable grounds that its application in the circumstances would pose an imminent danger to human health or safety.

(6) The Minister need not comply with subsections (3) and (4) if a notice of opportunity for voluntary recall was previously issued to the person in respect of the same or a substantially similar matter.”.

10. Page  15, clause 31:

(a) replace line 3 with the following:

“31. (1) Subject to this section, an inspector may order a person”;

(b) replace line 10 with the following:

“(b) the Minister has made an order under”; and

(c) add after line 40 the following:

“(4) Before making an order pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) or (d), the inspector shall issue a notice of opportunity for voluntary compliance to the person

(a) stating the nature of the order that the inspector intends to make and a summary of the reasons for so intending;

(b) requesting that the person, in consultation with the inspector, determine and carry out, within the specified time, appropriate measures to achieve compliance with an order made under section 12 or to achieve compliance with this Act or the regulations, as the case may be, in relation to the consumer product; and

(c) specifying the time within which the measures must be carried out.

(5) The inspector may not make an order pursuant to paragraph (1)(a) or (d) unless

(a) the person refuses the request contained in the notice of opportunity for voluntary compliance;

(b) the person fails to carry out the measures requested in the notice of opportunity for voluntary compliance within the specified time; or

(c) the measures are not successful in achieving compliance, or the inspector believes on reasonable grounds that the measures will not be successful in achieving compliance, within the specified time.

(6) Subsection (4) or (5) does not apply if the inspector believes on reasonable grounds that its application in the circumstances would endanger human health or safety.

(7) The inspector need not comply with subsections (4) and (5) if an inspector has previously issued a notice of opportunity for voluntary compliance to the person in respect of the same or a substantially similar matter.”.

11. Page  16, clause 33: Replace lines 2 and 3 with the following:

“ual or class of individuals (other than an inspector) that are qualified as an independent review panel for the purpose of reviewing”.

12. Pages 16 and 17, clause 34:

(a) on page 16, replace lines 6 to 9 with the following:

“section, an order that is made under section 31 shall be reviewed on the written request of the person who was ordered to take a measure by the inspector”; and

(b) on page 17, replace line 3 with the following:

“to take a”.

13. Pages 18 and 20, clause 36:

(a) on page 18,

(i) replace line 44 with the following:

“tor’s, analyst’s or review panel’s functions”, and

(ii) replace line 46 with the following:

“or a review panel may exercise their powers;”; and

(b) on page 20, add, after line 16, the following:

“(8) Within two years after the day on which this subsection comes into force, the Minister shall prepare a report describing the state of progress made in adopting, under this section, standards-related aspects of international trade agreements entered into by the Government of Canada and shall cause the report to be laid before each House of Parliament.”.

14. Pages 20 and 21 clause 36.1:

(a) on page 20,

(i) replace line 19 with the following:

“cause the proposed regulation to be laid before each House”,

(ii) replace lines 21 to 32 with the following:

“(2) The proposed regulation may be referred to an appropriate committee of the Senate, which may review the proposed regulation and report its findings to the Senate.

(3) The proposed regulation stands referred to the Standing Committee on Health of the House of Commons or, in the event that there is not a Standing Committee on Health, the appropriate committee of the House as determined by the rules of the House, which may review the proposed regulation and report its findings to the House.”,

(iii) replace line 36 with the following:

“tion is laid before both Houses of Parliament,”, and

(iv) replace line 38 with the following:

“regulation is laid before both Houses of Parliament, and”; and

(b) on page 21,

(i) replace line 2 with the following:

“Minister shall cause to be laid before that House a statement”, and

(ii) replace lines 5 to 7 with the following:

“before both Houses of Parliament need not again be so laid prior to the making of the regulation, unless it has been materially or substantially altered other than in accordance with the recommendations, if any, of the committee of either House.

(7) For the purposes of subsection (4), “sitting day” means a day on which either House of Parliament sits.”.

15. Page 21, clause 36.2: Replace lines 19 to 21 with the following:

“before either House of Parliament, the Minister shall cause a statement of his or her reasons to be laid before each House of Parliament on any of the first 15 days on which that House is sitting after the regulation is made.”.

16. Page 24, clause 44:

(a) replace lines 11 and 12 with the following:

“analyst or review panel purporting to have been signed by that person or a member of that panel is admissible in ”; and

(b) replace lines 21 and 22 with the following:

“analyst or review panel that appears to have been certified under the signature of that person or a member of that panel”.

17. Page 31, clause 57: Replace lines 18 to 22 with the following:

“57. The Minister shall not make a determination under subsection 53(1) that a person committed a violation unless the Minister is satisfied, on a balance of probabilities, that the person committed the violation identified in the notice of violation in which the person was named.”.

Respectfully submitted,

Art Eggleton. P.C.
Chair