The Standards Council of Canada is organized into five branches:

• Standards
• Conformity Assessment
• Intergovernmental Affairs and Trade
• Administration, including Finance and Information Management
• Corporate Services, including Communications

The work of the Standards Council of Canada falls into three principal areas:

Standards

The Standards Council of Canada accredits organizations that develop standards in Canada. Accreditation is the verification that an organization has the competence necessary to carry out a specific function. SCC's accreditation programs are based on internationally recognized guides and standards.

The Standards Council of Canada also approved National Standards of Canada. Accredited standards development organizations may submit their standards for approval as National Standards of Canada. This designation indicates that a standard is the official Canadian standard on a particular subject. It also shows that the development process met certain specified criteria. National Standards of Canada may be developed in Canada or adopted, with or without changes, from international standards.

Internationally, SCC manages Canada's participation in International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), two of the world's most important voluntary standardization bodies, and in regional standards organizations. It also encourages the adoption and application of international standards in Canada.

Conformity assessment

Conformity assessment is the practice of determining whether a product, service or system meets the requirements of a particular standard. SCC accredits the following conformity assessment bodies:

• testing and calibration laboratories
• management systems certification bodies
• personnel certification bodies
• product and service certification bodies
• inspection bodies

The Standards Council of Canada is also a member of a number of organizations that are developing agreements to ensure the international acceptance of conformity assessment results.

Intergovernmental Affairs and Trade

SCC advises federal, provincial and territorial governments, industry organizations and nongovernmental bodies on standards and conformity assessment related aspects of trade and regulatory policy. A major focus is to encourage governments and industries to make greater use of the National Standards System in regulatory activities and trade agreements.

SCC offers Canadians the latest and most comprehensive information on standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment in Canada and around the world through its Web site, Information and Research service and Technical Document Centre. The Standards Council of Canada also serves as Canada's World Trade Organization and North American Free Trade Agreement (WTO/NAFTA) Enquiry Point.