The Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) requires that chemical suppliers provide employers with information on the hazards of materials produced or used in Canadian workplaces. They must disclose their products’ health and safety risks as well as information on safe handling, storage, transportation, disposal, and first-aid treatment. Employers then prepare workplace material safety data sheets (MSDSs) and product labels to provide workplace safety education.

When a supplier or employer wants to protect confidential business information, they must file a claim for exemption with the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission. For the product to be legally available on the Canadian market, a registry number issued by the Commission is required on the MSDS, and for certain claims, on the label.

A claimant may decide to withdraw a claim at any stage of the process.

Submitting a claim

Claims for exemption are submitted directly to the Commission. (For more about submitting a claim, please see the Commission’s website at http://www.hmirc-ccrmd.gc.ca.)

Pre-registration check

When the Commission receives a claim, staff verify that the application and accompanying MSDSs and labels are complete and contain no obvious errors, and collect and verify fees.

Registering the claim

Once the claim application is complete and correct, it is assigned a registration number, which is then placed on the MSDS in place of the product’s confidential business information. This allows the company to import to or sell its product in Canada, while the decision-making process continues.

A notice of filing outlining the basic characteristics of the claim is published in Part I of the Canada Gazette, giving anyone affected by the product the opportunity to provide a written submission to the Commission as to whether the claim should or should not be judged valid.

Reviewing the claim

The Commission’s health and safety evaluators review the claim against the most recent scientific information. The screening officers then decide whether the claim is valid, based on certain regulatory criteria, and whether the MSDS and label comply with the Hazardous Products Act and Controlled Product Regulations, or in the case of an employer claim, other applicable federal, provincial or territorial occupational health and safety requirements.

The decision

At the end of the claim review process, a formal Statement of Decision is sent to the claimant.

If a claim is found to be valid, the claimant is granted an exemption of three years, at which point the claimant will need to refile the claim in order to continue to be exempt.

If a claim is found to be invalid and/or the MSDS does not meet requirements, the Commission issues a formal order for its revision and follows up to ensure compliance. All orders specify the date by which corrections must be made if the product is to continue to be sold in Canada.

Notices of decisions and orders are published in the Canada Gazette. If no appeal is filed, the claimant must provide the Commission, within 40 days of the appeal expiration period, an amended MSDS to be reviewed to ensure compliance with the order.

Appeals

When decisions and orders are published in the Canada Gazette, claimants and affected parties have 45 days to launch an appeal. If an appeal is filed, a notice of appeal is also published in the Canada Gazette to provide any other affected parties an opportunity to make representations to the appeal board. The length of the appeal process varies with the complexity of each case.

The appeal board decides whether to dismiss the appeal and confirm the Commission’s decision(s) or order(s), or to allow the appeal and either vary or rescind the decision(s) or order(s) being appealed. A notice of decision, including reasons, is published in the Canada Gazette.

Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission
427 Laurier Avenue West, 7^th floor
Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1M3

Tel: 613.993.4331
Fax: 613.993.5016

Visit our website at www.hmirc-ccrmd.gc.ca