CONSUMER PRODUCTS AND RETAIL E-SSENTIALS

Canada: Regulations amending surface coating requirements are published

JUNE 2022 - ELCTRICAL AND ELECTRONICS, HARDLINES, SOFTLINES, TOYS AND CHILDREN'S PRODUCTS

Canada published regulations amending certain regulations made under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act SOR/2022-122¹ in June 2022. This amendment will come into force on 19 December 2022.

The regulations updates the Surface Coating Materials Regulations and five other regulations under CCPSA would be affected. These aim to give clear and consistent regulatory requirements for all types of coating materials and better align the legal requirement in the United States.

Surface Coating Regulations² restrict lead and mercury content in surface coating materials while some regulations restrict lead, mercury and certain other harmful elements in applied surface coating materials. It is worth noting that surface coating materials refer to the one that is yet to be applied e.g., a liquid or powder paint while an applied coating material is one that has already been applied to an item.

Other regulations, including Toys Regulations³, Cribs, Cradles and Bassinets Regulations⁴, Expansion Gates and Expandable Enclosures Regulations⁵, and Playpens Regulations⁶, are also amended. Carriages and Strollers Regulations⁷ is also affected as the regulations will continue referring chemical requirements to the Toy Regulations. In particular, the hydrochloric acid testing method for heavy metal elements is removed. Industry can select the test method that they commonly adopted e.g., ASTM F963, EN 71-3 or ISO 8124-3.

The updates of Surface Coating Materials Regulations (SOR/2011-17) are summarised below: 

• Definition of the “surface coating materials” is updated. The term “dries to a solid film” is changed to “forms a solid film”. The solid film is the one that can be removed from the surface; 
• Stickers, films or other comparable materials are also defined as coating materials; 
• Only accessible parts of a product are within the scope. This is defined as “any parts that may be touched, licked, mouthed or swallowed during the reasonably foreseeable use of the products; 
• Furniture is newly added to the product list for applied coating materials and it is not limited to children’s furniture.

[1]  Regulations Amending Certain Regulations Made Under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (Surface Coating Materials) (SOR/2022-122) 

[2]  Surface Coating Materials Regulations (SOR/2016-193) 

[3]  Toys Regulations (SOR/2011-17) 

[4]  Cribs, Cradles and Bassinets Regulations (SOR/2016-152) 

[5]  Expansion Gates and Expandable Enclosures Regulations (SOR/2016-179) 

[6]  Playpens Regulations (SOR/2018-186) 

[7]  Carriages and Strollers Regulations (SOR/2016-167)