. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/TBT/N/CAN/278 
3 July 2009  
 (09-3249) 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade Original:   English/ 
 French 
 
 
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
The following notification is being circ ulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  CANADA   
If applicable, name of local governme nt involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):     
2. Agency responsible:  Department of Health 
Name and address (including telephone and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above :  Canadian Enquiry 
Point, 200-270 Albert Street, Ottawa, Ontari o, Canada, K1P 6N7 Tel.:  +1 613 238 3222, 
Fax.: +1 613 569 7808, E-mail: enquirypoint@scc.ca 
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [ X ], 2.10.1 [   ], 5.6.2 [   ], 5.7.1 [   ], other:   
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applicable, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable):  Children’s toys and child 
care articles (ICS: 97.190, 97.200) 
5. Title, number of pages and language(s) of the notified document:   
- Proposed Phthalates Regulations (18 pa ges, available in English and French) 
- Proposed Order Amending Schedule I to the Ha zardous Products Act (Pht halates) (2 pages, 
available in English and French) 
- Proposed Amendment to the Haza rdous Products (Toys) Regulations   (2 pages, available in 
English and French) 
6. Description of content:  A product composed in whole or in part of soft vinyl containing 
certain phthalate plasticizers has the potentia l to cause harmful health effects in young 
children that suck or chew on the soft viny l for prolonged periods of time. The voluntary 
action already taken by domestic industry to remove the two predominantly used phthalates 
[di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) and diisononyl phthalate (DINP)] from soft vinyl 
teethers, pacifiers and other products designe d for and intended to be mouthed by young 
children safeguards only a small portion of so ft vinyl children’s products marketed in 
Canada. The vast majority of these products are manufactured offshore, where voluntary Canadian restrictions are not always app lied. The United States and European Union 
recently set legislation restricting the level of six phthalates in soft vinyl children’s toys and 
child care articles on precautionary grounds e ither based on adverse reproductive effects in 
animals [DEHP, dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP)] or despite the 
absence of scientific certainty regarding health  risks [DINP, diisodecyl phthalate (DIDP) 
and di-n-octyl phthalate (DNOP)]. 
 G/TBT/N/CAN/278 
Page 2  
 
  A restriction under Part II of Schedule I to th e Hazardous Products Act is the most effective 
measure for ensuring that soft vinyl children’s to ys and child care articl es imported, sold or 
advertised in Canada do not contain phthalates th at are restricted in the United States and 
European Union. To this end, it is proposed th at the concentration of each of DEHP, DBP and 
BBP be restricted to no more than 1 000 mg/kg in  soft vinyl of all children’s toys and child 
care articles, and the concentration of each of DINP, DIDP and DNOP be restricted to no 
more than 1 000 mg/kg in soft vinyl of children’ s toys and child care articles where the soft 
vinyl can, in a reasonably foreseeable manner, be placed in the mouth of a child under four 
years of age. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the na ture of urgent problems where applicable:  
Protection of human health and safety  
8. Relevant documents:   Canada Gazette, Part I, 20 Ju ne 2009, Pages 1849-1870 (available in 
English and French)   
9. Proposed date of adoption:   
 
Proposed date of entry into force:      Normally within 5 to 8 months of publication 
in the Canada Gazette, Part I. 
(a) in respect of child care articles that are 
intended to facilitate the feeding, sucking or teething of a child under four years of age, on the day the measure is adopted; and 
(b) in respect of toys and in respect of child care 
articles that are intended to facilitate the 
relaxation, sleep or hygiene of a child under 
four years of age, six months after the day on 
which the measure is adopted. 
10. Final date for comments:  3 September 2009 
11. Text available from: National enquiry po int [ X], or address, telephone and fax 
numbers, e-mail and web-site addres ses, if available of the other body:    
The electronic version of the regulat ory text can be downloaded at:  
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-p r/p1/2009/2009-06-20/pdf/g1-14325.pdf  (Canada Gazette) 
or 
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/ p1/2009/2009-06-20/html/reg3-eng.html    (Reg_English)  
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/ p1/2009/2009-06-20/html/reg3-fra.html     (Reg_French) 
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/ p1/2009/2009-06-20/html/reg4-eng.html   (Order_English) 
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/ p1/2009/2009-06-20/html/reg4-fra.html    (Order_French) 
http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/ p1/2009/2009-06-20/html/reg5-eng.html   (Toys Reg_English)