Considering the COVID-19 outbreak, The Consumer Product Safety Program (CPSP) of Health Canada is aware that the industry may be facing challenges concerning the mandatory incident reporting requirements under Section 14 of the Canada Consumer Product safety Act (CCPSA). This includes timelines for the determination of awareness during COVID-19; Subsection 14(2) reporting; and Subsection 14(3) reporting and extensions.
Timelines for the determination of awareness during COVID-19
Health Canada’s guidance recommends up to two days for the determination of awareness from when the industry first hears about an event to when it decides if it is an incident or not. Given the current circumstance, the industry may not be able to evaluate current or new information in order to determine if they are reportable under CCPSA. The CPSP understands that there may delays but encourages the industry to review events in a reasonable timeframe and practice due diligence when identifying health and safety risks.
Subsection 14(2) reporting
Subsection 14(2) provides an early indication of a possible incident to Health Canada. The CPSP expects any event determined to be an “incident” under Subsection 14(2) be reported within 2 days after the “awareness.” It is important to submit all or most of the information related to the incident. The CPSP does not expect the industry to conduct a full inventigation or know every detail when submitting the Subsection 14(2) report.
Subsection 14(3) reporting and extension requests
An extension can be requested at the time Subsection 14(2) is being submitted. Below is a link for the 14(3) extension process.
For more information on incident reporting, please visit: