Update On Proposed Mandatory Product Recall Law.Legislation to enact the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act and complementary amendments to the Food and Drugs Act Food and Drugs Act (formal title An Act respecting food, drugs, cosmetics and therapeutic devices) is an Act of the Parliament of Canada regarding the production, import, export, transport across provinces and sale of food, drugs, contraceptive devices and cosmetics , two key components of Canada's new Food and Consumer Product Safety Action Plan, was tabled in the House of Commons House of Commons: see Parliament. earlier this month. The Food and Consumer Product Safety Action Plan, announced by Prime Minister Harper in December, 2007, proposes a series of initiatives to modernize mod·ern·ize v. mo·dern·ized, mo·dern·iz·ing, mo·dern·iz·es v.tr. To make modern in appearance, style, or character; update. v.intr. To accept or adopt modern ways, ideas, or style. and strengthen Canada's safety system for food, health and consumer products. Principal plan elements include: emphasizing industry's responsibility to provide safe products; mandatory reporting mandatory reporting The obligatory reporting of a particular condition to local or state health authorities, as required for communicable disease and substance abuse Infectious disease State boards of health maintain records and collect data resulting from MR of requirements; new and stronger authorities to enable Canada to take appropriate action with respect to unsafe products; significantly increasing penalties for offending companies; more and better information for the public and decision-makers on products; and improving the safety of imported products. Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CPSA CPSA n abbr (BRIT) (= Civil and Public Services Association) → sindicato de funcionarios CPSA n abbr (Brit) (= Civil and Public Services Association) → ) Intended, in part, to replace Part I of the Hazardous Products Act, the CPSA will generally apply to all Canadian consumer products, whether imported or domestically manufactured. Certain products, such as food, cosmetics and drugs, the sale of which is governed by other federal legislation, will not be covered by the CPSA. In addition to a general prohibition against the manufacture, importation, advertisement and sale of consumer products that are a danger to human health or safety, the CPSA will include provision for: increased maximum criminal fines of up to $5,000,000; the introduction, as an alternative to criminal prosecution, of an administrative monetary penalty scheme; mandated safety tests and results disclosure to Health Canada Health Canada (French: Santé Canada) is the department of the government of Canada with responsibility for national public health. Health Canada's goal is to improve Canadian life by improving Canadian longevity, lifestyle and use of public healthcare. ; required notification to Health Canada and others of reports of serious adverse incidents/defects; the power to pull unsafe consumer products from store shelves; the power to institute mandatory recalls and other corrective measures; and mandatory supplier record keeping. Amendments to the Food and Drugs Act (FDA FDA abbr. Food and Drug Administration FDA, n.pr See Food and Drug Administration. FDA, n.pr the abbreviation for the Food and Drug Administration. ) Amendments to the FDA, many of which correspond to provisions of the proposed CPSA, form the second cornerstone to the Food and Consumer Product Safety Action Plan. Principal provisions in the bill include: extending the product safety cycle from confirming the safety and efficacy of products before they are approved for sale to include requiring manufacturers to demonstrate that products remain safe and effective following their introduction to the marketplace; increasing the openness and transparency with respect to the government's regulatory decision-making which would include more information sharing See data conferencing. ; substantially increasing fines and jail terms; increasing authorities to monitor and prevent unsafe products from entering the Canadian marketplace; enabling Health Canada to develop regulations requiring a mandatory adverse drug reaction adverse drug reaction, n a detrimental outcome from a drug. Two types of ADRs exist: Type 1 results from dosage mismatch and Type 2 from rare conditions often as a consequence of a small dose. See also risk or sensitive type. reporting requirement for Canadian health care institutions; and empowering Health Canada to direct mandatory health product recalls. In connection with the tabling of the two bills, Prime Minister Harper said "Today's action on consumer safety is good news for Canada. It will improve our safety and our health, make Canadian brands more competitive among global consumers, and boost confidence at home as a country whose product safety standards Safety standards are standards designed to ensure the safety of products, activities or processes, etc. They may be advisory or compulsory and are normally laid down by an advisory or regulatory body that may be either voluntary or statutory. are second to none." The personal involvement of the Prime Minister in this product safety initiative and the fact that the government has moved as quickly as it has to introduce legislation following its December announcement suggest that these two bills may be on a fast track for enactment. www.fasken.com The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances. Mr Douglas New Fasken Martineau PO Box 20, Suite 4200 66 Wellington Street Wellington Street is a name of a street in:
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