Members of the committee, the consumers of Canada need Bill C-6, but it is only a first step.
Every day Canadians buy a variety of consumer products that are imported into Canada from all over the world. These include toys, clothing, tools, and electronics. Their number is legion. Unfortunately, in recent years we've seen several product recalls, and this has had a negative impact on consumer confidence. We are convinced that the regulatory regime for consumer products available in Canada should be both strengthened and modernized. Therefore we believe that Bill C-6 for the most part responds to the concerns of Canadian consumers.
We particularly welcome the inclusion of the ban across the board that will affect each and every player in the production chain. Furthermore, it will enable the Minister of Health to take prompt action to remove dangerous products from the shelves of stores and supermarkets. This bill will also give more power to inspectors, including the power to order a recall. We hope that these inspectors will be given the necessary resources and the department will be sufficiently staffed to exercise these enhanced powers.
The obligation of each and every party that manufactures, imports, or sells consumer products to report incidents is also particularly important. We hope that this reporting requirement will be accompanied by strengthened cooperation at the international level between the office of the consumer product safety division of Health Canada and its European, Asian, and American counterparts. We also hope that maximum effort will be made to pool information on all recalls from the respective countries. Finally, we trust that this measure will lead to the creation of a national registry of recalls that will enable Canadian consumers to directly participate in the recall process.
The product safety program of Health Canada within the healthy environments and consumer safety branch must therefore be given the necessary resources to further increase awareness among Canadian consumers. Consumers should be able to promptly report any information they have related to a given product.