Mr. Chair, there are five amendments to the Weights and Measures Act. Most are proposed to remove prescriptivity in the current legislation.
For example, in clause 192, the definition of “measuring machine” is amended to remove the reference to “moving or movable part”. This amendment is proposed to address the increasing number of measuring devices that no longer have moving parts, including those devices based on software for measurement or measurement-related apps.
In addition to that change, there is a similar ministerial regulation-making authority to that proposed for the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act, which I described earlier, that would add new units of measure with a similar rationale. These changes would allow the act to keep pace with international standards and the flexibility to allow new measurement approaches that may arise with new and unforeseen technology developments.
The other proposed amendments to the Weights and Measures Act would provide greater flexibility in the act, while others would align the act with international definitions.