43rd Parliament223Government response tabledJanuary 25, 2021e-2807e-2807 (Consumer protection)SamanthaAtchisonEricMelilloKenoraConservativeONAugust 25, 2020, at 3:15 p.m. (EDT)October 24, 2020, at 3:15 p.m. (EDT)November 4, 2020January 25, 2021October 26, 2020Petition to the <Addressee type="1" affiliationId="" mp-riding-display="1">House of Commons</Addressee>Whereas:Nearly 1.5 million Canadians are visually impaired;Warning labels should be accessible to all Canadians;The inability to identify hazardous consumer products is a safety risk and a barrier to independent living for the visually impaired;Currently, there is no law to assist visually impaired Canadians with identifying hazardous consumer products; andThe government has a stated commitment to accessibility and inclusivity.We, the undersigned, citizens of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to require that warning labels on hazardous consumer products include braille or tactile symbols.
Response by the Minister of HealthSigned by (Minister or Parliamentary Secretary): Darren FisherHealth Canada recognizes the daily challenges faced by Canadians with visual impairments. The Government of Canada is committed to increasing accessibility to all persons and continues to consider vulnerable populations more broadly, such as Canadians with visual impairments, when setting policies that impact products used by consumers.  The Accessible Canada Act has been guiding the Government of Canada’s work on disability inclusion since June 2019. Work is ongoing to proactively identify, remove and eliminate barriers to accessibility and inclusion across sectors in Canada.   Consumer safety is a shared responsibility among governments, industry and the public. Health Canada makes online materials available in accessible formats, including for persons with visual impairments, for a range of issues, such as guidance on using household chemicals safely. We recognize that such guidance may be limited in its utility in supporting an adult with a visual impairment in their day-to-day lives.Health Canada regulates a number of different products available to consumers that may require hazard labelling, including consumer products, cosmetics, health products, pest control products and foods. These labelling requirements are captured by a number of different pieces of legislation. Many of these acts and regulations include requirements related to the presentation of this information, including that text be displayed in both official languages. In many cases, Health Canada provides additional guidance on typeface, font size and contrast to maximize legibility of safety information on labels.While the regulatory requirements do not compel manufacturers, importers or retailers to make warnings or safety information be displayed in Braille (English or French) or in another form of tactile symbols, it does not prevent industry from applying innovative solutions that could provide such accessibility, as long as all applicable requirements of the acts and regulations are met.We will continue to work with the disability community in our efforts to create a more accessible and inclusive Canada for all, especially Canadians with disabilities.  We thank you for bringing this matter to our attention.
BrailleHazardous substances and hazardous productsPackaging and labelling
43rd Parliament229Not certifiedJune 15, 2020e-2287e-2287 (Transportation)BrianDiasAlexandreBoulericeRosemont—La Petite-PatrieNDPQCFebruary 14, 2020, at 10:33 a.m. (EDT)June 13, 2020, at 10:33 a.m. (EDT)June 15, 2020Petition to the <Addressee type="3" affiliationId="" mp-riding-display="1">Government of Canada</Addressee>Whereas:Canadians, who live along rail corridors, assume serious risks associated with the transport of crude oil and other dangerous goods by rail;Railway cars, carrying petroleum and other hazardous cargo, pass through urban areas, by residences, schools and hospitals;We value the lives of our first responders, and recognize the need to provide them with reliable real-time information regarding the transportation of dangerous goods by rail; andRail corporations, with profit seeking mandates, in the event of an incident involving the accidental release of dangerous cargo into the environment, cannot be expected to conduct themselves strictly in the interests of the public or the affected environment.We, the undersigned, residents of Canada, call upon the Government of Canada to: 1. Require all railway corporations, by legislation, to provide a copy of its train consists to Transport Canada prior to departure when transporting dangerous goods, in order to ensure that this information is immediately available to First Responders so that, in the event of a serious incident, they may protect themselves, and the affected community, with the appropriate safety equipment and containment methods;2. Conduct an Environmental Assessment at the site of all incidents involving the release of dangerous cargo, in order to properly assess damages to the environment, mitigate the damages, and oversee environmental restoration to the affected area.Environmental assessmentFreight transportationHazardous substances and hazardous productsRail transport safety