Vol. 138, No. 47 — November 20, 2004

Regulations Amending the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (Expiration Date for Certain Technical Standards Documents)

Statutory authority

Motor Vehicle Safety Act

Sponsoring department

Department of Transport

REGULATORY IMPACT
ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Regulations.)

Description

This amendment to Schedule IV to the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (MVSR) makes changes to sections 105 "Hydraulic and Electric Brake Systems (Standard 105)," 108 "Lighting System and Retroreflective Devices" (Standard 108), 121 "Air Brake Systems (Standard 121)," 122 "Motorcycle Brake Systems (Standard 122)," 131 "School Bus Pedestrian Safety Devices," 135 "Light Vehicle Brake Systems (Standard 135)," 206 "Door Locks and Door Retention Components (Standard 206)," 305 "Electrolyte Spillage and Electrical Shock Protection (Standard 305)" and 500 "Low-speed Vehicles (Standard 500)." These changes are being made to extend the expiration date of the above sections, which incorporate Technical Standard Documents (TSDs).

TSDs incorporated in the above sections are published by Transport Canada. They reproduce the U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards (FMVSS), as amended from time to time, with certain adaptations. These adaptations include the deletion of material that does not apply under the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (MVSA) and MVSR, metrication of measurements, deletion of superseded dates, substitution of Canadian reporting requirements for U.S. ones where appropriate, and minor editorial changes. Incorporated by reference in several sections of Schedule IV to the MVSR, TSDs form most of these sections' safety requirements for new motor vehicles offered for sale in Canada.

According to subsection 12(4) of MVSA, regulations that incorporate a TSD must have an expiration date that is no later than five years after the day on which they come into force. Therefore, these sections of the MVSR must be reaffirmed before they expire. If these sections are allowed to expire, then the safety requirements that they contain, and which ensure the safety of the Canadian driving public, will cease to have the force and effect of law. This amendment serves the purpose of extending the expiration date of sections 105, 108, 121, 122, 131, 135, 206, 305 and 500. The proposed expiration date is January 1, 2010.

Effective date

This amendment will come into force on January 1, 2005.

Alternatives

All nine sections of the MVSR, and the TSDs that they incorporate, have been in effect for several years. The response from manufacturers on the use of TSDs has been favorable. The use of TSDs allows for Canadian and U.S. requirements to be maintained in harmony because any improvement of the regulatory requirement implemented in the United States was adopted in a timely manner in Canada. Where necessary, unique Canadian requirements are added or amended without defeating, or interfering with, the main objective of the regulations.

The only alternative to the presently proposed amendment is to redevelop independent Canadian requirements dealing with the subject matter of sections 105, 108, 121, 122, 131, 135, 206, 305 and 500. It was not considered practicable, as such an alternative could lead to disharmony between U.S. and Canadian requirements.

Benefits and costs

Since there are no changes to the requirements of the amended Regulations, there is no cost imposed on the industry or the public as a result of the change of the expiration dates.

Consultation

It is possible to comment on the content of this amendment during the consultation period of 30 days that will follow its publication in Part I of the Canada Gazette. A relatively short comment period is warranted, since the amendment is purely administrative. No technical provisions of the nine sections being amended are changed. Comments with regard to the expiration dates of the sections referring to TSDs may also be made at any of the regular meetings that are held with industry representatives to discuss regulatory development matters. All responses will be taken into consideration in the development of the final amendment.

Compliance and enforcement

Motor vehicle manufacturers and importers are responsible for ensuring that their products comply with the requirements of the MVSR. The Department of Transport monitors the self-certification programs of manufacturers and importers by reviewing their test documentation, inspecting vehicles, and testing vehicles obtained in the open market. When a defect is found, the manufacturer or importer must issue a notice of defect to owners and to the Minister of Transport. If a vehicle does not comply with a safety standard, the manufacturer or importer is subject to prosecution and, if found guilty, may be fined as prescribed in the MVSA.

Contact

For further information, please contact Marcin A. Gorzkowski, P.Eng., Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation Directorate, Department of Transport, 330 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N5, (613) 998-1967 (telephone), (613) 990-2913 (facsimile), gorzkom@tc.gc.ca (electronic mail).

For copies of Technical Standards Documents, please contact the Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation Directorate, Department of Transport, 330 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N5 (613) 998-8616 or 1-800-333-0371 (telephone), (613) 990-2913 (facsimile), anderst@tc.gc.ca (electronic mail).

PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to subsection 11(3) of the Motor Vehicle Safety Act (see footnote a), that the Governor in Council, pursuant to section 5 (see footnote b) and subsection 11(1) of that Act, proposes to make the annexed Regulations Amending the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (Expiration Date for Certain Technical Standards Documents).

Interested persons may make representations with respect to the proposed Regulations to the Minister of Transport within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must be in writing and cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be sent to Marcin Gorzkowski, Senior Regulatory Development Engineer, Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation Directorate, Department of Transport, Place de Ville, Tower C, 8th Floor, 330 Sparks Street, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0N5 (tel: (613) 998-1967; fax: (613) 990-2913; e-mail: gorzkom@tc.gc.ca).

Persons making representations should identify any of those representations the disclosure of which should be refused under the Access to Information Act, in particular under sections 19 and 20 of that Act, and should indicate the reasons why and the period during which the representations should not be disclosed. They should also identify any representations for which there is consent to disclosure for the purposes of that Act.

Ottawa, November 15, 2004

EILEEN BOYD
Assistant Clerk of the Privy Council

REGULATIONS AMENDING THE MOTOR VEHICLE
SAFETY REGULATIONS (EXPIRATION DATE FOR
CERTAIN TECHNICAL STANDARDS DOCUMENTS)

AMENDMENTS

1. The Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (see footnote 1) are amended by replacing the expression "March 1, 2005" with the expression "January 1, 2010" wherever it occurs in the following provisions:

(a) subsection 105(8) of Schedule IV;

(b) subsection 121(6) of Schedule IV; and

(c) subsection 135(8) of Schedule IV.

2. The Regulations are amended by replacing the expression "January 1, 2005" with the expression "January 1, 2010" wherever it occurs in the following provisions:

(a) subsection 108(66) of Schedule IV;

(b) subsection 122(8) of Schedule IV;

(c) subsection 131(3) of Schedule IV;

(d) subsection 206(4) of Schedule IV;

(e) subsection 305(2) of Schedule IV; and

(f) subsection 500(4) of Schedule IV.

COMING INTO FORCE

3. These Regulations come into force on January 1, 2005.

[47-1-o]

Footnote a

S.C. 1993, c. 16

Footnote b

S.C. 1999, c. 33, s. 351

Footnote 1

C.R.C., c. 1038

NOTICE:
The format of the electronic version of this issue of the Canada Gazette was modified in order to be compatible with hypertext language (HTML). Its content is very similar except for the footnotes, the symbols and the tables.

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