The federal government’s Bill C-6 dealing with Canadian Consumer Product Safety must be opposed.  In its present form the Bill would give unreasonable power to the federal cabinet and their bureaucracy. 

It is a power grab which would override personal rights.

Passage of the Bill is opposed for the following four (4) reasons.

1. Bill C-6 would provide the Federal Minister of Health with unprecedented levels of discretionary power.  The Minister of Health would have the power to declare a consumer product as harmful.  No substantive proof would be necessary rather there would be  a reverse onus, the product would have to be proven to be not harmful at the expense of the buyer.  There would be no parliamentary supervision.

2. It would allow the Minister of Health to pronounce a consumer product harmful not by analysis of the said product from Health Canada but on the basis of a statement from the United States FDA.  Products meant for Canadian consumers could be judged safe or unsafe on standards set by another Country, not by our Government, the Government of Canada.

3. If a product is considered to be potentially unsafe by the Ministry of Health, under Bill C-6, inspectors could search private property without a warrant and, without Court supervision, seize private property, destroy private property, take control of businesses and in some circumstances keep seized private property.

4. Bill C-6 in its present form removes the independent review board currently in place in the Hazardous Products Act which allows parties with disputes to appeal decisions to the Board of Review.  Under Bill C-6  appeals would be reviewed  by the very same inspectors who investigated and possibly seized products.

The greater portion of the business community would be affected by the terms of the proposed Act.  The greatly increased discretionary powers of the Ministry and the onus to prove a product without harm could fall on all those engaged in the following business activities “ (a) a consumer product;  (b) anything used in the manufacturing, importation, packaging, storing, advertising, selling, labeling, testing or transportation of a consumer product; or (c) a document that is related to any of those activities or a consumer product.”

Should the proposed Canadian Consumer Product Safety Act be made law through  “quick  passage” as Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq would have it, it is questionable whether those affected  by its terms will be aware of its implications for them.

She  must  be  stopped.

For more information call Hon. Sinclair Stevens at 1-888-666-3821 or e-Mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Click here to become a member of the PC Party.