Vol. 143, No. 14 — July 8, 2009

Registration

SOR/2009-192 June 18, 2009

HAZARDOUS PRODUCTS ACT

Order Amending Schedule I to the Hazardous Products Act (Residential Detectors)

P.C. 2009-998 June 18, 2009

Her Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Health, pursuant to section 6 (see footnote a) of the Hazardous Products Act (see footnote b), hereby makes the annexed Order Amending Schedule I to the Hazardous Products Act (Residential Detectors).

ORDER AMENDING SCHEDULE I TO THE HAZARDOUS PRODUCTS ACT (RESIDENTIAL DETECTORS)

AMENDMENTS

1. Item 33 of Part I of Schedule I to the Hazardous Products Act (see footnote 1) is repealed.

2. Part II of Schedule I to the Act is amended by adding the following after item 46:

47. Residential detectors within the meaning of the Residential Detectors Regulations.

COMING INTO FORCE

3. This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT
ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order or the Regulations.)

Issue and objectives

The Hazardous Products Act (HPA) provides the authority to prohibit or restrict the advertisement, sale or importation of products which are, or are likely to be, a danger to health or safety of the public.

Schedule I of the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) is divided into two “Parts.” Part I lists prohibited products (i.e. completely prohibited or prohibited with conditions/allowances). Part II lists products that are restricted (regulated).

Item 33 of Part I of Schedule I to the HPA prohibited the advertisement, sale or importation of certain detection devices, specifically, audible signal appliances, control units, smoke detectors and heat detectors used in household fire alarm systems and smoke alarms for household use that did not meet the applicable requirements of the Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada (ULC) standards listed in that item. The ULC standards previously referenced were over 30 years old and the references needed to be updated. Those ULC standards previously referenced no longer provided the levels of consumer protection appropriate to current technology. By referencing the most current editions of the ULC standards, the levels of appropriate consumer protection will be achieved. In order to ensure that the referenced standards are always up to date, new Residential Detectors Regulations were created and reference current standards as amended from time to time. Consequently, item 33 of Part I of Schedule I has been repealed and has been replaced by the new Residential Detectors Regulations which is now referenced in Schedule I, Part II.

The purposes of the new Regulations are twofold:

(a) To update the health and safety requirements for residential detectors to reflect the current versions of ULC standards, as amended from time to time. The new standards are harmonized with the Underwriters’ Laboratories (UL) standards used in the United States to the extent possible; and

(b) The creation of these Regulations requires moving the substantive requirements for such detectors from item 33 of Part I of Schedule I to the HPA into a new item in Part II of Schedule I, which would be:

47. Residential detectors as defined in the Residential Detectors Regulations.

Description and rationale

In Canada, the National Building Code (NBC) and the National Fire Code (NFC) contain provisions for fire detectors/alarm systems in new homes and buildings. These codes are referred to or adopted into the regulatory framework of most provinces and municipalities in Canada. These regulatory frameworks also include provisions for renovating, restoring and expanding existing buildings which require that their fire detectors/alarm systems be upgraded at the time of these alterations. In all cases these required detectors/alarm systems must meet the requirements of all applicable CAN/ULC or ULC standards in effect at the time of the construction work. The effect of this combination of codes and requirements is that the majority of homes and buildings start life with detectors/alarm systems that can be considered state-of-the-art and there are also strong assurances that these systems are upgraded whenever major additions, repairs or renovations are undertaken (i.e. all projects for which building permits and inspections are required by municipal authorities).

The requirements for residential detectors under the HPA are intended to ensure that the products available to the Canadian market would facilitate and complement the effects of the NBC and NFC. Even if someone wanted to use substandard products in their detectors/alarm systems, with the mandatory requirements for residential detectors, it is illegal to import, advertise or sell such non-complying products in Canada, and the individual will only be able to acquire those products which meet the CAN/ULC or ULC standards. Also, individual consumers who wish to add smoke/fire detectors to their property would be assured that the products available in Canada also meet the current CAN/ULC or ULC standards.

The ULC certification of a product involves a contractual agreement between the manufacturer and ULC which allows the ULC trademark to be placed on a product only if the product meets the latest versions of the appropriate standards. ULC undertakes the necessary testing and product monitoring to ensure that production continues to meet the requirements and also conducts recall campaigns if problems are detected in the marketplace.

Manufacturers are also constrained by their contractual agreements with ULC and by the requirements of the NBC and provincial regulations to only provide devices and systems which meet the newer standards.

The weakness in this system only appears if someone enters the market with a product that does not conform to the CAN/ULC or ULC standards and this person does not ascribe to the ULC contractual commitments. Since the ULC contracts are between the manufacturer and ULC, they do not have force of law on other parties. By regulating residential detectors under the HPA, Health Canada (HC) provides the legal basis to close this gap and ensure that Canadians enjoy the benefits of the latest in alarm and detector technology.

Therefore, the main purpose of regulating these products is to ensure that all parties selling these products sell only detectors/alarm systems that meet the requirements of the CAN/ULC or ULC standards. Failure to meet these standards can potentially compromise these life safety systems and as a result, the safety of the consumer and public. However, many manufacturers produce detectors/alarm systems that meet the requirements of the NBC and NFC, and also as part of their contractual agreements with ULC. The proposed Regulations is thus proportionate to the degree and type of risk presented by the issue, and since many if not most manufacturers selling these products in Canada already conform to the CAN/ULC or ULC standards, the Regulations will not unduly impact industry or other areas.

The expected benefits will be an assurance that Canadians will have available to them only the most modern detection and alarm technology, which will potentially save lives, and the costs to industry will be minimal. The cost to government will also be minimal since ULC will bear the development costs of the standards. As described further below under Implementation and Enforcement, in addition to HC inspection programs, compliance to the ULC standards will be monitored by ongoing ULC inspection programs through ULC follow-up services.

Consultation

This proposal was pre-published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on November 10, 2007, to provide the public with an opportunity to review the proposal and provide comments.

In the Canada Gazette, Part I, several alternatives were presented.

These were

(1) Adopt the proposed Regulations with reference to current ULC standards as amended from time to time. This was viewed as the most efficient option for the Government of Canada to pursue as the ULC standards development process includes extensive consultations with stakeholders (including manufacturers and HC) where alternatives are considered. The process also provides advance notice and time for manufacturers to adjust production specifications to bring their products into conformity with the newer standards.

(2) Not adopt the proposed Regulations, which would have effectively resulted in industry complying with ULC and National Building and Fire Code requirements to meet current state-of-the-art standards, while HC would continue requiring compliance with outdated 1978 standards. HC’s requirements could prevent the legal importation, advertisement or sale of devices meeting the current ULC standards while the NBC, NFC, and provincial and municipal regulations would be demanding detectors/alarm systems that meet the latest ULC standards. HC’s requirements would potentially be preventing such products from appearing in the Canadian marketplace.

(3) Adopt standards other than those in the proposed Regulations which would have resulted in significant incremental costs for HC’s and would probably not have provided any incremental benefits. The standard setting and consultative processes would have been similar to those employed by the ULC, but would have required that HC establish and pay for administrative costs associated with the adoption of such standards as well as putting in place additional compliance programs to ensure the detectors met the standards listed in the new Regulations. Also, quality control benefits accruing from the pre-market evaluation of such products that is an inherent part of the ULC approval process and the enforcement efforts of the ULC would have been lost. Finally, such a course would have been in opposition to the current requirements of the NBC, NFC, and most provincial regulations.

The conclusion was that the creation of Residential Detectors Regulations that reference ULC standards, as amended from time to time, was the best option to help ensure Canadians buy the most modern and safest detectors/alarm systems meeting ULC standards.

During the Canada Gazette, Part I, comment period, HC received comments from one stakeholder indicating support for this initiative from HC and further suggesting the following changes to the amendment:

(1) The Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS) in the Canada Gazette, Part I indicated that all of the listed standards in the new Regulations were harmonized with the ULC standards used in the United States. This statement should have indicated they were harmonized with Underwriters’ Laboratories (UL) and not ULC standards in the United States.

As a result, the RIAS now indicates that the new standards are harmonized with the UL standards used in the United States to the extent possible. [Minor elements of the standards cannot be harmonized as a result of differences in the way in which Canada and the United States develop regulations, as well as regional differences (i.e. climate and language) which necessitate, for example, differences in the temperature range in which the products operate and differences in the language of labelling].

(2) Two standards were identified as missing from the table of standards. These were

(a) CAN/ULC-S526, “Visible Signal Devices for Fire Alarm Systems, Including Accessories;” and

(b) CAN/ULC-S541, “Speakers for Fire Alarm Systems, Including Accessories”

Both of these standards were indicated in the comments received as providing life safety warnings and protection, and the products covered by them are part of a Fire Alarm System. However, the addition of these two standards is not considered urgent nor would it unduly impact industry as the NBC, by reference to CAN/ULC-S524-6, Installation of Fire Alarm Systems, requires that components of fire alarm systems meet these standards. Thus, industry is already required to produce products meeting these additional standards. Furthermore, adding these two standards to the Regulations was not deemed possible at this time as doing so would have been a substantial change to the original proposal, thus requiring significant delays in the publication of the new Regulations; a return to the Canada Gazette, Part I, would have been required to seek public input once again. Thus, addition of these standards by amending the Regulations will be considered at a later date.

Separate from any comments received during the comment period of the Canada Gazette, Part I, another change had to be made to the Regulations. Since the preparation of the Canada Gazette, Part I, publication, ULC-S525-99 (as amended from time to time) has been updated and has now become a national standard of Canada and it includes requirements concerning accessories. Consequently, the table in the Regulations has been revised to show CAN/ULC-S525-07, Audible Signal Devices for Fire Alarm Systems Including Accessories, as amended from time to time.

The Regulations include two tables, one describing requirements for residential detectors, and the other describing requirements for components of a residential fire alarm system.

Finally, the title of the Regulations has been changed from “Domestic Detectors Regulations,” as proposed in Canada Gazette, Part I, to “Residential Detectors Regulations” to more clearly reflect the intent of the Regulations, that is that they are meant to apply to detectors used in households.

There exist ULC standards describing proper installation of detectors/alarm systems such as ULC-S524 mentioned above, however it is not within HC’s mandate or jurisdiction to regulate or monitor the installation of these products.

From this point forward, any modifications by ULC to the referenced standards listed in the tables to the Residential Detectors Regulations will be subject to a consultation process as described further below. The policies and procedures followed by the ULC in preparing standards for approval under the National Standards System established by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) are set out in the Manual of Procedure for the Development of National Standards of Canada by Underwriters’ Laboratories of Canada and in the Criteria and Procedures for the Preparation and Approval of National Standards of Canada, as published by the SCC.

In accordance with the standards development procedures of the SCC, standards are continually maintained and reaffirmed at least every five years. A periodic review is conducted to determine that the standard is still relevant and in line with current practice. Where review is not possible, it is requested that standards be reaffirmed every five years, although no technical changes have been made.

In particular, the residential detector standards are developed by a committee under the Secretariat of ULC with input from consumer groups, fire safety experts, government officials, manufacturers, insurers, and others involved in consensus-type standards development. Representation on this committee is subject to periodic review to ensure that the requisite balance of interests is being maintained. The committee considers all proposals or requests for revisions or amendments to existing residential detector standards and periodically reviews applicable standards to ensure that they are kept current. Once it has been determined that a residential detector standard needs to be updated, the ULC then distributes, generally by electronic mail, the draft standard to a wide range of individuals or organizations known to have an interest in the subject area of the standard for comment. The draft standard is also submitted to the Fire Council of the ULC for their review and comment.

Health Canada participates in the process that sets and amends residential detector standards.

Implementation, enforcement and service standards

The Regulations are effective immediately. Compliance will be monitored by ongoing HC inspection programs. Importers and manufacturers will be able to demonstrate their compliance to HC primarily through their involvement with the ULC follow-up services and their subsequent ability to provide that proof of compliance to HC. Follow-up services by ULC include both audits and finished product testing.

Contact

Denis G. Roy
Project Officer
Consumer Products Safety Bureau
Consumer Product Safety Directorate
Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch
Department of Health
Postal Locator: 3504D
123 Slater Street
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0K9
Telephone: 613-952-3517
Fax: 613-952-9138
Email: denis_g_roy@hc-sc.gc.ca

Footnote a
S.C. 1996, c. 8, s. 26

Footnote b
R.S., c. H-3

Footnote 1
R.S., c. H-3

NOTICE:
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