Manufacturers’ guide to product safety in Canada

There is no regulatory requirement to register your product with Canadian poison centres as we do not maintain a Safety Data Sheet (SDS) database.

Eligibility for certification includes:

POISINDEX – The database that all poison centres in North America use
Government of Canada’s Consumer Product Information Database
Government of Canada’s Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, which maintains a database of SDSs

Transport Canada’s CANUTEC requires consignors (a person who ships or imports dangerous goods) to place a 24-hour emergency number on shipping documents for dangerous goods.

More information on SDSs and labelling requirements

Typically, products that are harmful if ingested need to carry the warning, “If swallowed, call a Poison Centre or doctor immediately.”

Labelling and first-aid advice requirements for products of varying hazard ratings

Government of Canada’s Consumer Product Safety page, with further links for industry

Hazardous materials that may be encountered in the workplace fall under the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), a national health information system designed to protect Canadian workers by providing safety and health information about hazardous workplace materials.

The key elements of the system are:

Hazardous classification
Hazard communications through cautionary labelling of containers
Provision of safety data sheets (SDSs) and worker education
and training programs

Please refer to the publication, Technical Guidance on the Requirement of the Hazardous Products Act and the Hazardous Products Regulation – WHMIS 2015 Supplier Requirement.