Good afternoon, Madam Chair and members of the committee.
My name is Shannon Coombs, and I am the president of the Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association, CCSPA. I'm also a member of the council of governors for the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission.
It's a pleasure to be here today to meet with you and provide a short presentation on our support for the administrative changes included in Bill C-45 for the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission, HMIRC.
CCSPA is a national trade association that represents 42 member companies across Canada, collectively a $20-billion industry directly employing 12,000 people. Our companies manufacture, process, package, and distribute consumer, industrial, and institutional specialty products such as soaps and detergents, pest control products, aerosols, hard surface cleaners and disinfectants, deodorizers, and automotive chemicals.
CCSPA members use the services provided by the government under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act to formally register confidential business information on workplace safety data sheets, a service that the government has provided since 1985. The work of the HMIRC is about ensuring that confidential business information on the data sheets and health and safety information is not compromised. Both are provided effectively to the workers and to industry.
It's unfortunate that there has been some misinformation in the media about the HMIRC role. In no way is the review of chemicals being eliminated from these amendments. Canada is a world leader with a comprehensive approach to chemical management and assessment of both new and existing substances under the chemicals management plan that was announced by the Prime Minister in 2006 and renewed in 2011.
The administrative changes proposed in Bill C-45 are to house the commission within the healthy environments and consumer safety branch, HECSB, of Health Canada. It's our understanding that these changes will save valuable resources. Currently the commission has its own financial full-time equivalent as well as human resources full-time equivalents. Now they will be shared with Health Canada. Including these services within the Department of Health will result in more integrated coordination with the workplace hazardous materials information system, currently housed at HECSB.
We are also supportive of the continued legislative consultation mechanism, which is appointed by the minister and is comprised of the various stakeholders—industry, labour, employers, and the FPT component. This makes for a very robust consultation mechanism for the HMIRA.
In our opinion, the administrative changes will reduce costs and allow Health Canada to assist in responsible expenditure management in budget 2012. The changes will ensure the health and safety of workers while protecting confidential business information and allowing business to be competitive.
Thank you for your time today. I'd be happy to answer any questions the committee members may have.