Some topics that were discussed at the last Regulatory Affairs Committee meeting of the Canadian Association of Chemical Distributors (CACD www.cacd.ca).
- The CACD board of directors has approved a new standing committee – Health and Safety; there will be more news about this committee as it comes together
- CACD has re-branded and launched its new website at its 25th anniversary AGM which was held in St. John’s NF this past June
- the Auditor General will be reviewing the TDG directorate and will include the emergency response assistance plan (ERAP) programme in the review; the objective is to determine if the programme has value to Canadians; in general, experience has shown that emergency responders do not make use of ERAPs.
- the MACTDG met in May at which Amendment 12 was discussed and CACD’s response to this amendment were presented
- the security group of Transport Canada may be announcing that they will harmonize with the US regarding security issues, which we will hear more about later this year
- CACD’s voice has been heard (along with others) regarding the Generic Products Regulations that Health Canada and Environment Canada buried in the mercury containing products regulations; the government has withdrawn the proposed legislation
- the Consumer Product Safety Directorate (CPSD) of Health Canada has formed a new team to implement GHS; this team will be reviewing the decisions made by the CIC (Current Issues Committee), for example:
- considering a new classification – hazardous, not otherwise classified
- no reference to the SDS is required on a label as it is redundant
- possibility of no hatched border on the label
- grouping of hazard symbols, signal words and hazard statements
- flashback for aerosols will not be considered anymore
- CPSD will be meeting with the CIC in the fall; draft regulations could take 6 to 8 months to be drafted with a final regulation in approx. 2 years; however, the Hazardous Products Act needs to be amended which the government has not yet authorized.
- the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission (HMRIC) will be issuing a Policy Information Sheet (PIS) on the order of the sections for a material safety data sheet
- CACD will be taking a larger role in government affairs; CACD will be registering federally as a lobbyist and in any province that has lobbyist legislation; the goal is to advocate before the rules are made, not after
- the first advocacy meeting was be held July 4 with the mayor of Burlington to discuss Responsible Distribution®