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HMIRC at a Glance

Serving the worker’s right to know and industry’s right to safeguard confidential business information

The Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission (HMIRC) is an independent agency accountable to Parliament through the Minister of Health. We work with our stakeholders—industry, labour and governments—to help safeguard both workers and trade secrets in Canada’s chemical industry. The Commission is part of the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS), a wide array of laws, regulations and procedures that helps minimize workplace injury and illness from the use of hazardous chemicals.

Under WHMIS, manufacturers and distributors of controlled (hazardous) products must provide information on the health and safety risks associated with their products, together with instructions for safe handling, storage, transportation, disposal and first-aid treatment. This information is conveyed by the product’s mandatory material safety data sheet (MSDS) and label, which form an important part of employers’ workplace education programs.

However, chemical companies have the right to keep confidential business information private. On occasion, this right may be at odds with WHMIS disclosure requirements. Industry, labour and government agreed in 1987 to a mechanism that creates an equitable balance between the industry’s right to protect trade secrets and the right of employers and workers to know about the hazardous materials they deal with.

The Hazardous Materials Information Review Act and its regulations provide that mechanism through the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission.

What the Commission Does

If a supplier or manufacturer wishes to withhold proprietary information, such as the identity or concentration of a particular hazardous ingredient in its product, it can apply to HMIRC for limited exemption from its obligations under WHMIS to disclose this specific information.

HMIRC registers claims for exemption from disclosure of trade secrets, rules on the validity of claims, and issues decisions on the compliance of MSDSs and some labels with WHMIS legislation. We serve clients and stakeholders through three business lines: Client Services, MSDS Compliance and Dispute Resolution.

Client Services helps suppliers and employers protect their confidential business information by providing information about the claims process and the role of the Commission. They make sure everyone who deals with the Commission has the information they need to make the process as simple as possible. Client Services personnel register claims for exemption and ensure the security of claim-related information.

The MSDS Compliance business line is the Commission’s scientific arm. Scientific evaluators review material safety data sheets associated with claims for exemption, and provide advice to the Commission’s screening officers on the extent to which these documents comply with WHMIS requirements.

Screening officers, part of a separate division, rule on claim validity, based on the requirements of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act. They also decide if the MSDS is in compliance; if mandatory information is missing from an MSDS or label, they issue a formal order to revise it, and follow up until the MSDS complies with regulations.

Dispute Resolution provides all parties involved in a claim with options for the prevention and resolution of disagreements and complaints. While there is an appeals process at the end of the line, it is rarely used. The Commission has incorporated in its day-to-day operations a number of features to help avoid disputes or settle them informally. We take pride in giving impartial, unbiased and prompt service that encourages the resolution of contentious issues in a fair and timely manner.

Formal appeals may relate to the compliance of an MSDS, the rejection of a claim or to a request that confidential business information be revealed in confidence to an affected party for occupational health and safety reasons. Appeals are heard by independent boards with members nominated by industry, labour and government, to ensure that all points of view are represented.

Our Values

The Commission’s approach is that everyone’s interests are best served by considering the needs of workers and industry alike, and the best solution is one that protects both.

We emphasize cooperation, openness and dialogue in carrying out our mandate. We seek out creative and progressive approaches to improve our procedures and programs. We try to offer a streamlined, competent, efficient and timely service that is cost-effective and does not impose undue financial or paper burdens on those who deal with us. Above all, we want to be fair and consistent, and accountable for all we do.

Our clients and stakeholders represent industry, workers, employers and governments at the federal, provincial and territorial levels. We try to build relationships of trust, respect and understanding with all of them.

2001–2002 Highlights

In the past year, the Commission substantially completed its three-year renewal program to improve service delivery, increase transparency and accountability, and modernize its administration. All action items from our strategic plan (Commission Renewal: Blueprint for Change) are underway or fully implemented. Some long-term projects, such as our new Dispute Resolution process, are being implemented in phases that will continue into the coming fiscal year, partly due to the time required for legislative amendments.

The year’s major achievements include:

• Fully established a new organizational culture of cooperation, openness and dialogue with partners and stakeholders
• Designed a new fee structure and schedule (in effect June 13, 2002)
• Introduced payment of fees by credit card
• Recruited new operations staff associated with the 5-Year Backlog Reduction Plan
• Initiated a review of the 5-Year Backlog Reduction Plan
• Implemented elements of new screening and dispute resolution processes under administrative authority, and furthered necessary regulatory and legislative changes, still in progress
• Developed and began to implement a Communications strategic plan, including outreach activities with provincial health and safety organizations and other partners and stakeholders
• Implemented a new management structure, with a Senior Management Committee composed of six division directors
• Introduced new training and evaluation programs for Corporate Services staff
• Implemented new Federal Financial Information Strategy
• Initiated a Modern Comptrollership project
• Relocated to new office facilities