NEWS

This is to advise you of a change to Ontario Regulation 438/07 which addresses the duplication between the Product Safety Regulation in Ontario and the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA).  The amendment eliminates the obligations for mandatory reporting of electrical product safety issues to ESA (Electrical Safety Authority) and effective July 25, 2013, ESA will no longer manage post-market issues respecting consumer electrical products in Ontario.  

 

However, ESA will retain responsibility for pre-market approval requirements for all electrical equipment and products (including consumer electrical products) offered for sale in the Ontario marketplace, and will also retain responsibility for safety oversight for post-market industrial products in the province.

 

Why the Change?

In 2011, the federal Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) administered by Health Canada came into effect, outlining the responsibilities of industry across Canada for consumer product safety, including mandatory incident reporting and document retention. 

 

This created concurrent product safety systems (federal and provincial) for consumer electrical products in Ontario.  ESA, the Ministry of Consumer Services (MCS) and Health Canada have been working together to address this duplication.

 

What Happened?

Earlier this year, MCS invited stakeholders to comment on proposed amendments to Ontario Regulation 438/07 (Product Safety), which would provide clarity and reduce regulatory duplication for industry.  

On June 25, 2013, the Ontario government amended Regulation 438/07, removing obligations for mandatory reporting to ESA. The regulation has also been amended to include a consumer electrical product definition (consistent with the definition under the CCPSA), and to eliminate ESA’s authority to order notification to the public and require corrective action respecting consumer electrical products. 

 

What is ESA’s Role Now?

ESA will continue to play an important role in managing the safety of electrical products.  ESA will retain responsibility for pre-market approval requirements for all electrical equipment and products (including consumer electrical products) offered for sale in the Ontario marketplace, and will also retain responsibility for post-market safety oversight of industrial products.

 

To ensure ESA has the appropriate tools to address identified issues with pre-market approval requirements and post-market industrial products, the requirement for industry, certification bodies and inspection bodies to assist ESA in an investigation remains unchanged, as does ESA’s authority to order products be retained or turned over if suspected to be counterfeit or unapproved.

 

Health Canada, the MCS and ESA are committed to working together to ensure that electrical safety remains a key priority and that industry is aware of its respective obligations. ESA will be in contact with affected stakeholders to discuss revisions to the product safety guidelines as a result of the changes to the regulation.  A link to the amended Regulation 438/07 will be posted on the ESA website www.esasafe.com once it becomes available.

 

For more information, please contact:

Farrah Bourre

Manager, Communications & Stakeholder Relations

Electrical Safety Authority

Office:  905.712.5668

155A Matheson Blvd. W., Suite 202, Mississauga, ON L5R 3L5
Website: www.esasafe.com