Bill C-553

2nd Session, 39th Parliament,

56-57 Elizabeth II, 2007-2008

house of commons of canada

BILL C-553

An Act to ensure that warning labels are affixed to products containing toxic substances

Her Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate and House of Commons of Canada, enacts as follows:

SHORT TITLE

1. This Act may be cited as the Toxic Substances Labelling Act.

INTERPRETATION

2. The following definitions apply in this Act.

“food” means food as defined in section 2 of the Food and Drugs Act.

“product” means a good that can be produced, bought or sold, and that has a physical identity, including food and agricultural products.

“toxic substance” includes any of the following substances in a gaseous, liquid or solid state:

(a) substances identified as Group 1, Group 2A or Group 2B agents in the IARC Monographs on the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans, published by the International Agency for Research on Cancer;

(b) substances identified as carcinogenic, mutagenic or toxic to development or reproduction by

(i) the European Chemicals Agency,

(ii) any directive or regulation of the European Parliament and Council of the European Union,

(iii) the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment of the California Environmental Protection Agency,

(iv) the United States National Toxicology Program’s list of known or reasonably anticipated carcinogens, or

(v) the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health or the Department of the Environment;

(c) substances classified as endocrine disrupting chemicals by

(i) the European Chemicals Agency,

(ii) any directive or regulation of the European Parliament and Council of the European Union, or

(iii) the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health or the Department of the Environment;

(d) substances in the California Environmental Protection Agency's Schedule 1, List of Toxic Substances; and

(e) any other substance that is prescribed as a toxic substance in the regulations.

PROHIBITION

3. (1) No person shall sell, import or advertise any product that contains a toxic substance or produces a toxic substance when used unless that product has applied to it a warning label on one or more surfaces of the packaging of that product.

(2) The warning label required under subsection (1) must be printed in clearly legible and indelible characters and must include

a) a list of every toxic substance that product contains;

b) a description of the risks involved in the use of each toxic substance in the product;

c) a hazard symbol indicating the nature of the hazard of each toxic substance; and

d) an indication of the product’s origin, including the name and address of its manufacturer or distributor.

REGULATIONS

4. The Minister of Health may make regulations for carrying into effect the purposes and provisions of this Act and, in particular, may make regulations

(a) declaring that any product is toxic or contains a toxic substance;

(b) respecting the labelling of the products described in subsection 3(1);

(c) respecting the importation of products manufactured outside of Canada in order to ensure compliance with this Act and the regulations;

(d) requiring persons who sell products to maintain such books and records as the Minister considers necessary for the proper enforcement and administration of this Act and the regulations;

(e) requiring manufacturers of any product to submit test portions of any batch of their product;

(f) providing for sampling, testing, inspection and analysis of products, providing for the manner and conditions of sampling, testing and analysis and designating laboratories to perform testing and analysis; and

(g) providing for the review of the definition “toxic substance”.

OFFENCES AND PUNISHMENT

5. (1) Every person who contravenes any provision of this Act or the regulations as that provision relates to a good other than food is guilty of an offence and liable

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding $5,000; or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding $10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both.

(2) Every person who contravenes a provision of this Act or the regulations as that provision relates to food, is guilty of an offence and liable

(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding $50,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or to both; or

(b) on conviction on indictment, to a fine not exceeding $250,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years, or to both.

(3) Where a corporation commits an offence under this Act or the regulations, any officer, director or agent of the corporation who directed, authorized, assented to, acquiesced in or participated in the commission of the offence is a party to and guilty of the offence and is liable on conviction to the punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the corporation has been prosecuted or convicted.

(4) No person shall be convicted of an offence under this Act or the regulations in relation to the sale, importation or advertising of a product if the person establishes to the satisfaction of the court that the product in relation to which the offence was committed was received by, or was in transit to, the person from a dealer before the coming into force of this Act.