Mr. Speaker, with regard to (a), the Canadian Standards Association, CSA, is not a regulatory entity. CSA is a not-for-profit membership-based association.
With regard to (b), CSA develops voluntary standards that address a variety of needs. CSA contributes to the Canadian regulatory system through its standards, which are referenced in federal and provincial regulations by regulators. There are hundreds of voluntary standards from various standards development organizations, SDOs, incorporated by reference in Canadian regulations. SDOs maintain the intellectual property and copyright of voluntary standards that are referenced in regulations.
With regard to (c), standards development organizations maintain the intellectual property and copyright of voluntary standards that are referenced in regulations.
With regard to (d), standards by nature are proprietary to the standards development organization and, as such, must be purchased at cost unless an arrangement is made with the regulation-making authority or government for free public access to the standard.
With regard to (e) and (f), the Standards Council of Canada, SCC, is not privy to the financial details of CSA and is unable to provide this information.
With regard to (g) and (h), SCC is not in a position to respond to this question, given that this element is not under the purview of SCC.
With regard to (i) and (j), SCC is not privy to the financial details of CSA, and is unable to provide this information.
With regard to (k), SCC is not privy to the financial details of CSA, and is unable to provide this information.
With regard to (l), the Canadian Electrical Code, the CEC, is published by CSA. CSA is an entity separate from SCC; hence, SCC cannot provide the requested assurance, given that this element is not under the purview of SCC.
With regard to (m), standards by nature are proprietary to the standards development organization, though they may be leveraged to meet public policy objectives, being incorporated by reference in legislation. There may be costs involved in accessing copyrighted material that is incorporated by reference. Consequently, standards may need to be purchased, unless an arrangement is made with the regulation-making authority or government for free public access to the standard.