Posted on 03 December 2009
OTTAWA – Today, during a press conference held in the House of Commons foyer, Minister of Health, the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, when speaking about proposed Senate Committee amendments to Bill C-6, the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, said: “this legislation with the amendments, a child has to die before the industry can react, according to this legislation, with the amendments."
This is categorically false. Bill C-6, with or without the proposed amendments, would allow the government to order a recall of a consumer product that poses a reasonably foreseeable threat to human health or safety.
To claim that a child would have to die before action could be taken is absolutely and categorically false. This claim only shows once again how misinformed the Minister of Health is about basic issues concerning the health and safety of Canadians.
Another example Minister Aglukkaq gave during her press conference of an unacceptable amendment was, “if we are aware of situations where there is an unsafe product, we will then allow the industry to form a commission or a panel to review that before we can act which means there’ll be further delay in doing the recall of a product.” This again is categorically wrong – there was no such amendment – and again shows how the Minister fails to understand her own legislation.
“No one disagrees with the purpose of the Bill,” said Senator Joseph Day, Liberal critic for the Bill in the Senate. “But it has to be done right. Nothing in our amendments would prevent the government from issuing the recalls necessary to protect Canadians. I am absolutely confident that the bill, with our improvements, gives the government the powers it needs to protect Canadians’ health and safety. (Information on the proposed amendments can be found by clicking here for the backgrounder.)
“The fact of the matter is that the Committee is proposing reasonable amendments that strengthen the Bill, curtail possible bureaucratic overreach, and enhance the authority of the Minister of Health to ensure consumer protection in a timely manner,” added Senator Day.
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For more information:
Senator Joseph A. Day
(613) 992-0833
dayja@sen.parl.gc.ca