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How a Claim is Processed

Once a Claim for Exemption has been properly filed with the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission it is assigned to a screening officer. It is then issued a registry number and a notice of filing is subsequently published in the Canada Gazette. For more information please see How a Claim is Filed.

Claim Validity

The screening officer decides whether the claim is valid by reviewing the supporting information provided by the claimant against the criteria set out in the Hazardous Materials Information Review Regulations, taking into account any representations received from affected parties.

Compliance of a Material Safety Data Sheet and Label

A screening officer determines whether the material safety data sheet (MSDS) and label, for certain employer claims (see How a Claim is Filed), submitted with the claim for exemption complies with the applicable Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) requirements. In cases where the total formulation of the controlled product was not supplied or is not already evident from the MSDS, the claimant will be contacted to obtain the chemical identity and concentration of any ingredient present at 0.1% or greater. When the Commission does not have a toxicity profile summary for an ingredient in the formulation, a literature search is initiated to gather any available hazard information that may be relevant.

When the literature search has been completed, the commission will contact the claimant to verify that the most recent version of the MSDS for the product has been provided to the Commission. At this time, the claimant will also have the opportunity to submit any toxicological studies or other information that was used to prepare the MSDS.

Evaluators now begin the review and evaluation of any toxicological studies, supporting information and the materials that were retrieved during the literature search. An advice document is prepared, which contains information for the screening officer on the health and safety hazards posed by the product and/or its ingredients, as well as on the degree to which the claimant’s MSDS, and labels, where applicable, comply with WHMIS requirements.

The screening officer reviews the advice document and may make a preliminary conclusion that the MSDS does not appear to comply with the above-mentioned requirements. The claimant is then offered an opportunity to review the advice document, and provide comments to the screening officer.

Depending on the nature of the feedback on the advice document, the screening officer may decide that further discussions are necessary. In such cases, a teleconference is arranged, wherein the claimant, the director of the MSDS Compliance Division and the screening officer participate.

At this time, the screening officer must also take into account any MSDS/label related representations that may have been received from affected parties, pursuant to the earlier publication of the notice of filing in the Canada Gazette.

Statement of Decisions and Order

The screening officer proceeds to document final decisions on MSDS/label compliance and claim validity in the form of a statement of decisions and order. Should a claim or a portion of a claim be ruled invalid, an order is issued to the claimant to disclose the claimed-for information, if the claimant wishes to continue selling the controlled product in question in Canada.

Where the MSDS/label does not meet WHMIS requirements, the screening officer issues an order that specific corrective changes be made. Prior to the issuance of the statement of decisions and order, the claimant is contacted by the screening officer for a brief discussion on the final document. All statements of decisions and order refer to the publication of a formal notice in the Canada Gazette and specify the time period by which the necessary changes must be carried out. The order includes a requirement for the claimant to provide a copy of the amended MSDS to the Commission so as to ensure that the changes as ordered have been satisfactorily completed.