Month: December 2009

Reuters reported:

Swiss food giant Nestle made misleading claims about the health benefits of some children's beverages, U.S. regulators said in letters released on Tuesday.

The article can be found here.

The Government of Canada has issued a press release reminding Canadians about health and food safety during the Holiday season.

Click here.

Stay safe this Holiday season.

Like every other year old man winter has returned and with a vengeance. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that with the bad weather there is an obvious increase in accidents.

Always, ensure that you are prepared for winter driving and practice safe and defensive driving techniques.

If you do happen to be involved in a motor vehicle accident make sure you swap all your driver and vehicle information with the other driver. Don’t admit anything and verify that all occupants in your vehicle and the other vehicle are safe.

If you have been injured contact me right away to learn about your rights. The insurance company will likely have a representative at your door within days with piles of paperwork.

Bill C-6 the proposed Canada Consumer Product Safety Act can be found here. I hope to review it in more detail later.

Click here for a link to frequently asked questions about Bill C-6 the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act.

Continuing with yesterdays discussion about product safety legislation, Health Canada issued a press release suggesting that Bill C-6, Canada Consumer Product Safety Act has been held up in the Senate.

Apparently, on “December 2, 2009, the Senate Social Affairs, Science and Technology committee made a number of amendments which render the Bill dysfunctional.”

The Canadian Health Minister stated:

"A handful of opposition Senators are trying to water down the proposed Act and consequently add extra steps in the process, slowing matters down needlessly," said Minister Aglukkaq. "The amendments made to the Bill do nothing to improve the health and safety of Canadians. They do, however, considerably weaken the bill by putting the interest of industry ahead of the health and safety of Canadians."

It’s extremely unfortunate that such an important Bill designed to protect Canadians is being heldup.

The most recent crib recall has been the last straw. Soon there might be product safety legislation in Canada.

Many in Canada might be unaware that there are no safety requirements for manufacturers to comply with. Companies are not required by law to inform the public about a potential hazard. Finally, the government of Canada does not have the power to impose a mandatory recall because it’s up to the company.

Bill C-6 is designed to be tougher legislation to protect Canadians and empower the government with the ability to issue mandatory recalls. The Bill passed with ease in the House of Commons and is now before the Senate. It’s time Canada modernized its product safety legislation and brought it in line with the United States and Europe.

The Toronto Star reported on the matter here.