How can I influence the standards affecting me or voice my opinion?

Consumers and Canadians play a key role in the National Standards System by:

• highlighting issues such as the environment, health, safety, and privacy in standardization discussions
• speaking out about products or services that do not meet expectations in terms of safety, quality or efficiency

Contact the SCC to provide input and feedback

The Consumer and Public Interest Committee (CPIC) is an advisory committee that looks at issues related to consumers and the public interest, including items such as health, safety and the environment. To pass along your input or feedback to this committee, contact us and request that we forward your email to the Consumer and Public Interest Committee secretariat.

The committee's membership includes representatives of consumers, environmental organizations, labour, the academic community, occupational health and safety organizations, standards development organizations and the federal government.

Contact a standards development organization

Contact one of the four accredited standards development organizations. There may be opportunities to get involved:

• Canadian Standards Association 
• Underwriters' Laboratories of Canada 
• Bureau de normalisation du Québec 
• Canadian General Standards Board 

Contact a consumer or public interest group

An option is to contact a consumer or public interest group. There are many non-government organizations that ensure that the interests of consumers, the environment and the public at large are appropriately considered when standards are being developed.

Industry Canada's Office of Consumer Affairs website provides a list of consumer groups .

Direct involvement in the standards development process

Should you have a particular interest in a standards development area, you can also get involved by providing consumer input towards the Canadian position on international standards. Various opportunities are available on an ongoing basis:

2007-10-31	Call for Interest: Proposal for the development of management systems standards for road traffic safety
2007-10-31	Opportunity to participate on the committee for the development of a guidance standard on Consumer product recall and corrective action: Code of good practice
2007-10-31	Opportunity to participate on committee developing an international guidance standard for suppliers on consumer product safety
2007-03-12	Opportunity to participate on committee developing standards for Fertilizers and Soil Conditioners (CAC/ISO/TC 134)
2007-03-12	Call for Interest: Proposal on the development of an international standard for cross-border trade of second-hand products

More participation opportunities »
Learn more about partipating »