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Overview

Who We Are

The Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission is an independent agency, created in 1987 under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act and accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Health. We are unique among federal agencies, since we derive our mandate and program accountability from the provincial and territorial occupational health and safety acts, as well as federal legislation.

As an independent administrative agency, the Commission acts to maintain the balance between the right of chemical companies to protect their trade secrets and the right of workers to know about the hazardous chemicals they work with in order to minimize workplace injury and illness. We help safeguard both workers and trade secrets. Our 34 employees and Council of Governors, which represents industry, labour and government, play an essential role in the Canadian economy.

How We Serve Canadians

In Canada, the handling and storage of hazardous chemicals in the workplace is controlled by the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), a wide array of legislation, regulations and procedures at various levels of jurisdiction that binds suppliers and employers alike. Established in 1988 through a consensus of labour, industry and government, the goal of WHMIS is to reduce illnesses and injuries resulting from the use of hazardous materials in the workplace.

WHMIS requires manufacturers and suppliers to provide employers with information on the hazards of chemicals produced, sold, or used in Canadian workplaces. It prescribes cautionary labelling for containers of controlled products as a condition of sale and importation, and requires suppliers of those products to provide material safety data sheets (MSDSs). A product’s MSDS must include the disclosure of all hazardous ingredients in the product, its toxicological properties, any safety precautions workers need to take when using the product, and treatment required in the case of exposure. Employers pass this information on to employees and institute worker training and education programs.

If a supplier or manufacturer wishes to withhold confidential business information—for example, the identity or concentration of one or more hazardous ingredients in its product—it applies to the Commission for an exemption from the requirement to list such ingredients on the MSDS. We allow suppliers to meet their WHMIS obligations without disclosing critical proprietary information, when the claim is determined to be valid.

We formally register claims for trade secret exemptions, rule on the validity of those claims, issue decisions on the compliance of MSDSs and some labels, and convene independent boards to hear appeals on our decisions and orders. These appeal boards are made up of representatives from the Commission’s tripartite clientele of WHMIS stakeholders: industry (suppliers and employers in the chemical industry who wish to protect their trade secrets, and employers who rely on supplier MSDS information to prepare their own workplace MSDSs and training programs); labour, representing the workers who are exposed to these products; and the federal, provincial and territorial governments.

Our Renewal Program

In 1998, we began to revitalize Commission operations by improving service delivery, increasing the transparency and accountability of our operations, and modernizing our administration. In many ways, this organization renewal process brought us back to our roots. The Commission began as the product of collaboration and agreement among government, labour and industry. In this same spirit of cooperation, we sought input from our clients and our partners in WHMIS to draft a strategic plan, Commission Renewal: Blueprint for Change, and its companion document, the Workplan, which outlined what we were going to do to realize our vision.

Cooperation, openness and dialogue with partners and stakeholders have remained strong elements in the implementation of our renewal initiative. Planned activities are proceeding on schedule, with many of the Blueprint’s 29 action items already completed, while we steer others through the regulatory and statutory approval process. The major objective of our organizational renewal was to improve client service—by lessening the financial and paper burden on claimants, for example—while continuing to protect worker health and safety. Throughout its renewal, the Commission has sought out creative and progressive approaches. We have been successful in inaugurating productive exchanges of ideas with clients and stakeholders, and their feedback has been useful as we develop improvements in procedures and programs. We have created a new service-oriented organizational culture, and developed new procedural and administrative tools that benefit both our clients and ourselves.

The Commission has now completed its first full year of operations after reorganizing its services into three new business lines: Client Services, MSDS Compliance, and Dispute Resolution. Our new structure has contributed to more timely, cost-effective service delivery. Our Web site, launched in 2000, helps speed service delivery while enhancing openness and accountability. In the past year, we have redesigned our cost recovery policy with a focus on fairness and consistency, and will now prepare proposals for regulatory amendments to the fee structure itself. We have also developed new MSDS screening and dispute resolution procedures, which will bring greater openness and efficiency to our operations while helping to build relationships of trust, respect and understanding with our clients.