IMPLEMENTATION AND ADMINISTRATION OF THE AGREEMENT
ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS TO TRADE

COMMUNICATION FROM CANADA

The following communication under Article 15.2 of the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade, dated 12 March 2025, has been received from the delegation of Canada.

_______________

1  IMPLEMENTING ACTIONS

1.1  World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act

1.1.  The World Trade Organization Agreement Implementation Act came into force in 1994. The Act implements for Canada the agreement that establishes the World Trade Organization, including the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade

2  PUBLICATION OF A NOTICE

2.1.  The Canada Gazette is the official newspaper of the Government of Canada. The text of all proposed regulations by the federal government, including technical regulations, references to standards, including those incorporated by reference, and mandatory conformity assessment procedures, must be published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, along with the corresponding Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement (RIAS).

2.2.  Federal government departments and agencies with regulatory functions may also publish on their website information on planned/upcoming measures or initiatives, including potential stakeholder consultations and opportunities for comments.

2.3.  The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) maintains a publicly available Centralized Notification System that provides information on the development of National Standards of Canada, which are voluntary, including adoptions of international standards, new projects, as well as new editions, amendments, reaffirmations, and withdrawals. These notices support transparency in standards development activity in which SCC plays a role. SCC is the signatory for Canada to the Code of Good Practice for the Preparation, Adoption and Application of Standards.

2.4.  Laws and regulations of Canadian provincial and territorial governments are published in their respective official newspapers:

·_              Alberta: Alberta Gazette - Alberta Gazette

·_              British Columbia: British Columbia Gazette - BC Gazette

·_              Manitoba: Manitoba Gazette - Manitoba Gazette

·_              New Brunswick: The Royal Gazette - New Brunswick Royal Gazette

·_              Newfoundland and Labrador: Newfoundland and Labrador Gazette - NL Gazette

·_              Nova Scotia: The Royal Gazette - Nova Scotia Royal Gazette

·_              Ontario: The Ontario Gazette - Ontario Gazette

·_              Prince Edward Island: The Royal Gazette - PEI Royal Gazette

·_              Quebec: La Gazette officielle du Québec - Gazette officielle du Québec

·_              Saskatchewan: The Saskatchewan Gazette - Saskatchewan Gazette

·_              Northwest Territories: Northwest Territories Gazette - NWT Gazette

·_              Nunavut: Nunavut Gazette - Nunavut Gazette

·_              Yukon: Yukon Gazette - Yukon Gazette

3  COMMENTS

3.1.  The Cabinet Directive on Regulation sets out the Government of Canada's expectations and requirements in the development, management, and review of federal regulations. Under the Directive, departments and agencies are to submit a regulatory proposal to be considered by the Treasury Board (Governor in Council), or the relevant regulation-making authority, for pre-publication in the Canada Gazette, Part I.

3.2.  The standard comment period following pre-publication is 30 days unless otherwise prescribed by legislative requirements and international obligations.

3.3.  A minimum comment period of 70 days may be required for consultations on proposals for new and amended technical regulations that may have a significant effect on international trade, consistent with Canada's obligations under the World Trade Organization's Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement.

3.4.  Stakeholders can review proposed regulations and submit their comments online directly on the Canada Gazette website. All stakeholder comments that conform to the terms of use are published.

3.5.  Comments can also be submitted by email to the individual identified in the Contact section of the proposed regulation.

3.6.  WTO Members can also submit comments on proposed regulations via Canada's National Notification Authority and Enquiry Point.

3.7.  For National Standards of Canada, comments are directed to the appropriate standards developer. All National Standards of Canada must undergo a public review period. All comments received, regardless of their place of origin, must be considered by the responsible technical committee and responded to if requested.

4  PUBLICATION OF FINAL TEXTS

4.1  Canada Gazette, Part II

4.1.  Upon approval by the Treasury Board, the Governor General signs the regulation, and the Registrar of Statutory Instruments registers it and publishes it in the Canada Gazette, Part II. Regulations enter into force immediately after registration, or on a day specifically stipulated. The regulation can only be enforced once published in the Gazette. While Canada does not maintain a catalogue of technical regulations, they can be found in the Gazette's Consolidated Index of Federal Statutory Instruments.

4.2  Justice Law Website

4.2.  The Justice Laws Website is the online source of the consolidated Acts and regulations of Canada. This website provides access to federal Acts and regulations in both official languages, both language versions being equally authoritative.

4.3.  The site provides several important features:

·_              As of 2009-06-01, all consolidated Acts and regulations are "official"

·_              A side-by-side bilingual PDF version of consolidated Acts and regulations

·_              Point-in-time access to consolidated Acts and regulations

·_              Links to "Amendments Not in force" and "Related Provisions"

·_              Shading of provisions in original enactments that are not yet in force

5  CONTACT INFORMATION[1]

(i) Enquiry Point(s)

Canada's Notification Authority and Enquiry Point, housed in Global Affairs Canada, is responsible for fulfilling Canada's transparency and notification obligations under the TBT and SPS agreements, as well as Canada's free trade agreements.

Canada's Notification Authority and Enquiry Point

Global Affairs Canada

Technical Barriers and Regulations Division

111 Sussex Drive

Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2

Canada

Telephone: (343) 203-4273

Fax: (613) 943-0346

Email: enquirypoint@international.gc.ca

(ii) Notification Authority

Same as Enquiry Point.

(iii) Other Agencies

The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat

5.1.  The Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat is a federal central agency that acts as the administrative arm of the Treasury Board. Under the leadership of the President of the Treasury Board, it provides guidance to help federal government departments effectively implement government policies and priorities. One of the Secretariat's core responsibilities is regulatory oversight. It promotes good regulatory practices and cooperation, and reviews proposed federal regulations. This includes:

·_              working to reduce regulatory burdens and advance modernization while protecting the environment, health and safety, and security;

·_              administering certain federal acts and regulations; and

·_              cooperating with other Canadian and international jurisdictions on regulatory issues of common interest.

5.2.  The Secretariat is responsible for ensuring compliance of federal regulatory departments and agencies to the Cabinet Directive on Regulation.

The Standards Council of Canada

5.3.  The Standards Council of Canada Act was signed in 1970 and established SCC as a federal Crown corporation whose mandate is to promote efficient and effective voluntary standardization in Canada. SCC reports to the Canadian Parliament through the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development. As Canada's National Standards Body, SCC represents Canada at the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). As Canada's National Accreditation Body, SCC offers several accreditation and recognition programs and is a signatory to the Asia Pacific Accreditation Cooperation (APAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement, the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (ILAC) Mutual Recognition Arrangement, and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) Multilateral Recognition Arrangement (MLA). Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement is incorporated into SCC's accreditation program requirements for the accreditation of standards development organizations to develop National Standards of Canada. The work programmes of these accredited standards development organisations are publicly available.

Measurement Canada

5.4.  Measurement Canada, a regulatory agency of Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada, has national responsibility and authority for legal metrology activities in Canada and is a part of Canada's National Quality Infrastructure. The agency is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the laws and requirements governing trade measurement in Canada.

5.5.  Measurement Canada has responsibility for administering and enforcing the:

·_              Weights and Measures Act,

·_              Electricity and Gas Inspection Act; and

·_              Certain sections of the Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act.

5.6.  The agency is also responsible for administering and enforcing the Regulations associated with these Acts.

6  ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

6.1  The Cabinet Directive on Regulation

6.1.  The Cabinet Directive on Regulation came into effect in 2018. It sets out the Government of Canada's expectations and requirements in the development, management, and review of federal regulations. Overseen by the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat, the Directive supports the Government of Canada's commitment to ensure that regulations protect the health, safety, security, social and economic well-being of Canadians, and the environment. It also confirms a life cycle approach to regulation, recognizing that attention must be given not only to regulatory development and analysis, but also to the implementation, review and results of regulations. Its four guiding principles are that: (i) regulations protect and advance the public interest; (ii) regulations be created, maintained, and reviewed in an open, transparent, and inclusive way that engages the public and stakeholders early on; (iii) regulations support a fair and competitive economy; and (iv) that regulatory decision-making be evidence-based and open to public review.

6.2.  The Directive is supported by four policies :

·_              Policy on Regulatory Development

·_              Policy on Cost-Benefit Analysis

·_              Policy on Limiting Regulatory Burden on Business

·_              Policy on Regulatory Transparency and Accountability

__________