Hazardous Products rules updated for HMIRA

Summary#

These are final, consequential changes called Regulations Amending the Hazardous Products Regulations: SOR/2020-38. They update federal hazard-communication rules so they match recent changes to the law that governs confidential business information claims made under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act (HMIRA). The changes were published in the Canada Gazette on March 18, 2020.

What it does#

• Aligns wording and references in the Hazardous Products Regulations and the Hazardous Materials Information Review Regulations with the modernized HMIRA (which received royal assent on June 21, 2019).
• Replaces references to a “screening officer” with the Minister and replaces the word “decision” with “determination” for consistency.
• Removes references to appeals, the “appeal board” and “affected parties,” and repeals the now-obsolete Hazardous Materials Information Review Act Appeal Board Procedures Regulations.
• Clarifies timing for supplier obligations after a claim is resolved, including a maximum period of 30 days in one situation and timing tied to any order issued under the HMIRA in another.
• Makes small wording modernizations (for example, changing “shall” to “must,” and “as soon as practicable” to “as soon as possible”) and updates one nurse‑registration phrase to match provincial practice rules.
• Does not change how companies file claims for confidential business information (CBI) or the basic information that must appear on a safety data sheet.

Who's affected#

• Suppliers who sell or import hazardous products for Canadian workplaces are the most directly affected.
• Health Canada is affected because it administers HMIRA claims and will use the updated terminology and procedures.
• Workers, employers and workplace safety programs (including Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) partners) are indirectly affected because these changes change the administrative framework for CBI claims and reviews.
• The government’s view (in the regulatory analysis) is that these are consequential edits and impose no costs or new filing requirements on businesses.

Why it matters#

• The changes tidy up federal rules so they match the earlier legislative modernization of the HMIRA. That reduces confusion caused by old terms and references that no longer exist.
• Removing the appeal-board process reflects a shift to a more streamlined review system for CBI claims. That could make decisions and enforcement faster or simpler in practice.
• Importantly, the amendments do not change what information must appear on safety data sheets or how companies submit CBI claims, so workplace safety information should remain consistent.
• The regulations come into force on the day section 198 of the Budget Implementation Act, 2019, No. 1 comes into force; if these regulations are registered after that day, they come into force on the day they are registered.