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Vol. 136, No. 15 — April 13, 2002 Regulations Amending the Hazardous Materials Information Review RegulationsStatutory Authority Hazardous Materials Information Review Act Sponsoring Agency Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT Description These amendments to the Hazardous Materials Information Review Regulations (HMIRR or the Regulations) introduce provisions that provide further clarity to user fees to be disbursed by claimants who avail themselves of the opportunity of obtaining an exemption, under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act (HMIRA), to disclose information that is otherwise required to be disclosed by law. While the present Regulations allow for an exemption and a fee schedule, the new proposed amendments, which are part of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission's (HMIRC) overall renewal, include client suggestions to improve service delivery by simplifying the fee structure and reducing the amount of information to be submitted in support of a claim. The proposed Regulations provide for a new fee schedule for filing and refiling of both single or grouped claims. The complex grouping criterion currently in existence is being replaced, for fee purposes, with a simpler flat-fee approach based on the notion that a group of claims filed at the same time will qualify for a progressive reduction in the fee payable per claim. Claims will be categorized as original or refiled and definitions will be amended accordingly. Original claims for exemption will be governed by one fee schedule while refiled claims for exemption (claims being filed for a second time, or more) will be subject to a distinct and lower fee schedule. Under the present Regulations, claimants benefit from a volume discount fee when filing numerous claims simultaneously. In order to ensure that claimants retain this advantage under the new proposed Regulations, a three-tiered fee structure was developed allowing claimants to benefit from reduced fees when filing or refiling numerous claims at once. Claimants will also retain the existing fee reduction for small businesses. The proposed fee schedule
The proposed amendments will also provide for a non-fee-related initiative: the reduction of the current requirements relating to the provision of information in support of a claim for exemption. This will be achieved by reducing the amount of information to be provided up front by claimants, upon filing an original claim or upon refiling a claim. The reduced requirements represent the minimum supporting information required to allow the decision-maker to assess the validity of a claim while still meeting statutory requirements. For those exceptional cases where the information provided under the new proposed Regulations will prove to be insufficient, the decision-maker will have the ability to request additional information under the HMIRA. Schedule 1, Form 1, of the Regulations is being removed from the regulatory realm to allow for greater administrative flexibility and efficiency, which will benefit the claimants. All other schedules are being repealed because the proposed amendments render them obsolete. Alternatives Three possible methods to implement a new user fee schedule were identified: 1. by policy; 2. by amendment to the Hazardous Materials Information Review Regulations; and 3. by amendment to the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act. The first method was considered but it was decided that the fee schedule restrictions should remain part of the Regulations. The second method consisting of amendments to the Regulations was adopted. The third method was not adopted because regulatory amendments were deemed sufficient to address the issues raised. Benefits and Costs Benefits The proposed amendments will be in lign with the Treasury Board Cost Recovery and Charging Policy. The new fee structure will benefit claimants as it will allow for reduced fees and for simpler fee calculation as well as provide simplified grouping opportunities. Industry will also benefit from the modifications aimed at reducing the requirements for the provision of supporting information when filing a claim, as the new provisions will accelerate and simplify claim preparation. Labour representatives will also benefit from this initiative because the reduction of costs and of claim preparation time for industry will translate in a higher rate of claimant participation and impact positively on occupational health and safety of workers. Costs Most of the costs for the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission are fixed costs. While most claimants will see their costs diminished, which will result in a revenue reduction on a per-claim basis, the projected number of claims filed is increasing sufficiently to offset revenue losses, as confirmed by the number of claims for 1999/2000 (394) , 2000/2001 (305), and 2001/2002 (300 with two months remaining to the fiscal year). Therefore, this proposal will only result in a modest net cost increase to the Commission, due to operating efficiencies from greater claimant compliance and increasing number of claims. Table 1: Net Impact of Proposed New Fee Structure on Commission Revenue
Table 2: Comparative Charts — Current vs. New Fee Schedule
Consultation The Commission is governed by a Council of Governors (Council), consisting of members representing labour, industry (suppliers and employers) and the federal, provincial and territorial governments. The Commission consulted extensively with its stakeholders and involved them in all steps leading to the proposed revised fee schedule. Already, during the Commission's renewal initiative, stakeholders had reiterated their position on the issue of fees: fees needed to be simplified and reduced. As a result, consultations with claimants and Treasury Board's cost recovery policy group were undertaken and a draft conceptual framework was presented to Council and unanimously endorsed. After Council endorsement, the Commission conducted a detailed analysis of claim profiles utilizing actual claim filings and put together a business case for the development of a fee proposal. This fee proposal was then forwarded to claimants for consultation. The Commission used a series of tools to gain input from its claimants, which included mailing and faxing the fee proposal to all claimants, meeting with stakeholder groups and holding consultation sessions, providing slide presentations and engaging in direct telephone contact with claimants. At the end of the consultation period, all feedback was analyzed. Over 75 percent of all active claimants responded and the comments received revealed that all claimants fully supported HMIRC's initiative. Based on claimant feedback, some minor adjustments were made to the distributed draft fee schedule to further address concerns of companies submitting larger groups of claims under the current fee schedule. More specifically, the threshold for grouping of claims was lowered from 20 to 15, a second tier introduced for groups of 16 to 25 claims, and a third tier was added for 25 claims and over. These changes were also incorporated into a presentation to Treasury Board Secretariat (TBS) officials to discuss the consultation results, the resulting fee schedule proposal and any required material revision. TBS officials were satisfied with our consultation process and final proposal. Labour representatives are very supportive of the initiative, as they believe that a reduction of costs for industry will translate in a higher rate of claimant participation and impact positively on occupational health and safety of workers. Council was presented with the final proposal and unanimously endorsed the new fee structure. In the development of the proposed Regulations, the Minister consulted with industry, labour, federal, provincial and territorial governments, as represented by HMIRC's Council of Governors. Adverse Reaction Reporting Comment It was suggested that an additional tier be created for groupings of 40 or more claims, filed simultaneously. Response HMIRC understands that some companies may wish to obtain further fee reduction when larger groups of claims are being filed simultaneously but the analysis of claim profiles (based on actual claim filings) revealed that such cases have only occurred as an exception and would not warrant increasing the complexity of the proposed fee structure. Compliance and Enforcement Unchanged enforcement policy. Contact Josée Potvin, Counsel, Director, Regulatory Affairs and Appeals Division, Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission, 427 Laurier Avenue W, Suite 700, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1M3, (613) 993-4429 (Telephone), (613) 993-5016 (Facsimile), josee_potvin@hc-sc.gc.ca (Electronic mail). PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT Notice is hereby given that the Governor in Council, pursuant to section 48 of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act (see footnote a) , proposes to make the annexed Regulations Amending the Hazardous Materials Information Review Regulations. Interested persons may make representations with respect to the proposed Regulations within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to Josée Potvin, Director of Regulatory Affairs, 427 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 700, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 1M3 (tel.: (613) 993-4429; fax: (613) 993-5016; e-mail: josee_ potvin@hc-sc.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, April 11, 2002 EILEEN BOYD REGULATIONS AMENDING THE HAZARDOUS MATERIALS INFORMATION REVIEW REGULATIONS AMENDMENTS 1. (1) The definitions "existing claim for exemption" (see footnote 1) and "subsequent claim for exemption" (see footnote 2) in subsection 2(1) of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Regulations (see footnote 3) are repealed. (2) Subsection 2(1) of the Regulations is amended by adding the following in alphabetical order: "original claim" means a claim for exemption filed by a claimant in respect of information relating to a controlled product, but does not include a refiled claim. (demande originale) "refiled claim" means a claim for exemption that is filed in respect of information relating to a controlled product, that is filed by the claimant who filed the original claim relating to that product, and is solely in respect of any of the information that, under subsection 19(2) of the Act, is or was previously exempt from disclosure in relation to that product. (demande représentée) 2. The heading "Chemical Identity or Concentration" (see footnote 4) before section 4 and sections 4 to 6 (see footnote 5) of the Regulations are replaced by the following: Original Claims 4. Subject to section 7, the fee required under subsection 11(3) of the Act to accompany an original claim is (a) $1800, when only one original claim is filed; and (b) when more than one original claim is filed at the same time,
(ii) $400 for each of the next 10 original claims filed, and (iii) $200 for each original claim filed in addition to those referred to in subparagraphs (i) and (ii). Refiled Claims 5. Subject to section 7, the fee required under subsection 11(3) of the Act to accompany a refiled claim is (a) $1440, when only one refiled claim is filed; and (b) when more than one refiled claim is filed at the same time,
(ii) $320 for each of the next 10 refiled claims filed, and (iii) $160 for each refiled claim filed in addition to those referred to in subparagraphs (i) and (ii). 3. The portion of section 7 (see footnote 6) of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following: 7. The fee required under subsection 11(3) of the Act to accompany a claim for exemption is one half of the fee required by section 4 or 5 if the claimant 4. Section 8 (see footnote 7) of the Regulations is replaced by the following: 8. (1) Subject to subsection (2), a claim for exemption shall be in writing and be signed and dated by the claimant, and shall contain (a) the name, address, telephone number and, if applicable, the facsimile number and electronic mail address of the claimant; (b) the name, address, telephone number and, if applicable, the facsimile number and electronic mail address of an individual who can be contacted in respect of the claim, if the information is different from that required under paragraph (a); (c) a statement identifying the claim as either an original claim or a refiled claim; (d) a statement indicating whether the claimant is a supplier or an employer; (e) if the claim is made by a supplier, a statement identifying the subject-matter of the information for which the claim is made as being one or more of the following:
(ii) the name of a toxicological study that identifies an ingredient of a controlled product; (f) if the claim is made by an employer, a statement identifying the subject-matter of the information for which the claim is made as being one or more of the following:
(ii) the name of a toxicological study that identifies an ingredient of a controlled product, (iii) the chemical name, common name, generic name, trade name or brand name of a controlled product, and (iv) information that could be used to identify a supplier of a controlled product; (g) the information for which the claim is made; (h) in respect of the information for which the claim is made, the following:
(ii) a statement indicating whether, to the knowledge of the claimant, any persons inside or outside Canada other than persons referred to in subparagraph (i) have knowledge of or access to the information and, if so and the number is known to the claimant, the number of those persons, (iii) a detailed description of the measures implemented by the claimant in order to restrict knowledge of or access to the information, including the measures relating to site security, document security and computer security that have been implemented for that purpose, and (iv) a statement indicating whether or not each person who, to the knowledge of the claimant, has knowledge of or access to the information has signed a confidentiality agreement in respect of that information; (i) the following in respect of the controlled product related to the claim:
(ii) if the claim is a refiled claim, the registry number of the preceding claim filed in respect of that controlled product, and (iii) if the claim relates to an ingredient of the controlled product, the generic chemical identity and CAS registry number of the ingredient; (j) a statement indicating the amount of money expended or other business resources employed, if any, by the claimant to develop the information, and an explanation of why the claimant considers the money expended or the business resources employed to be substantial in the circumstances; and (k) one of the following estimates and explanations:
(ii) an estimate of the material financial gain to the claimant's competitors that would result if the information for which the claim for exemption is made were disclosed, and an explanation of why the claimant considers that the financial gain would be material. (2) A statement or description referred to in paragraph (1)(h) is not required to be contained in a claim for exemption if (a) the statement or description would be identical to that contained in a claim previously filed by the claimant or in any other claim filed at the same time by the claimant; (b) the claim states that the statement or description is identical to that contained in the claim previously filed or in the other claim filed at the same time; and (c) the claim identifies the claim that contains the statement or description. (3) A claim for exemption submitted under subsection (1) shall not contain any false or misleading information. 5. The portion of section 9 (see footnote 8) of the Regulations before paragraph (a) is replaced by the following: 9. A claim for exemption shall be filed 6. Section 10 (see footnote 9) of the Regulations is replaced by the following: 10. A screening officer shall assign a registry number or have a registry number assigned to a claim for exemption as soon as practicable after receiving (a) a claim for exemption that is in accordance with section 8; (b) the material safety data sheet or label to which the claim for exemption relates; and (c) the required fee. 7. Schedules I to IV (see footnote 10) to the Regulations are repealed. COMING INTO FORCE 8. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered. [15-1-o] Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance RegulationsStatutory Authority Employment Insurance Act Sponsoring Department Department of Human Resources Development REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT Description The proposed amendments to the Employment Insurance Regulations (the Regulations) do not reflect substantive changes to the Regulations they modify, but rather make minor clarifications. Paragraph 37(2)(d) The prior wording could result in an employer not being allowed to pay a top-up amount to a claimant who occupied more than one employment since this amount, combined with the claimant's benefit rate, would have exceeded 95 percent of the claimant's normal weekly earnings from that employer. This was unfair to the claimant. Section 38 The addition of a title before section 38 is a minor change to clarify the purpose of that section. The changes related to paragraph 38(a) are being made for the same reasons as set out above for paragraph 37(2)(d). Paragraph 91(2)(a) Paragraph 91(2)(a) is added to refer to the maiden name of the claimant's mother as a form of additional security for claimants when employment insurance (EI) applications for benefit are filed via the Internet. Section 92 These changes will improve service to our clients who have requested that the Department deposit EI payments directly into their bank accounts. The existing Regulations prohibit the Commission from being able to act on the verified information from a financial institution without the written consent of the claimant. This places a heavy burden on the financial institution, claimant and the Commission when the purpose is only to update account information. This results in delayed payment and further frustrates the claimant. The current wording of the Regulations does not allow claimants to request or terminate a direct deposit other than by an in-person contact or by mail. This results in non-receipt of payment or delays when the claimant is unable to report in-person, or has to rely on mail service. The amendment will allow claimants to make such changes by telephone or electronically, subject to the verification of a claimant's identity using secured pass codes. In addition, the regulatory change will allow the Department to accept verified information from the bank to update claimant information (new account number or bank branch). This is not permitted by the present Regulations. Alternatives No other alternatives were considered as the changes are minor and do not reflect substantive changes to the Regulations they modify. Benefits and Costs These regulatory amendments have no additional costs related to the payments made to claimants from the EI Account or to administrative costs for employers or for the Government. It is expected that these changes will, in some cases, improve the service to clients but will not have any negative impact on Canadians. Consultation These changes are minor. Therefore, prepublication in the Canada Gazette, Part I, is the only planned consultation. Compliance and Enforcement No formal analysis or enforcement activities are required for these minor regulatory changes. Contact Jim Little, Senior Policy Advisor, Policy and Legislation Development, Insurance Branch, Human Resources Development Canada, 140 Promenade du Portage, 9th Floor, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0J9, (819) 997-8628 (Telephone), (819) 953-9381 (Facsimile). PROPOSED REGULATORY TEXT Notice is hereby given that the Canada Employment Insurance Commission, pursuant to paragraphs 54(p) and (t) and subsection 143(1) of the Employment Insurance Act (see footnote b) , proposes, subject to the approval of the Governor in Council, to make the annexed Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance Regulations. Interested persons may make representations with respect to the proposed Regulations within 30 days after the date of publication of this notice. All such representations must cite the Canada Gazette, Part I, and the date of publication of this notice, and be addressed to Jim Little, Policy and Legislation Development, Insurance Branch, Human Resources Development Canada, 9th Floor, 140 Promenade du Portage, Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0J9. Ottawa, April 11, 2002 EILEEN BOYD REGULATIONS AMENDING THE EMPLOYMENT INSURANCE REGULATIONS AMENDMENTS 1. Paragraph 37(2)(d) of the Employment Insurance Regulations (see footnote 11) is replaced by the following: (d) requires that the combined weekly payments received from the plan and the portion of the weekly benefit rate from that employment do not exceed 95 per cent of the employee's normal weekly earnings from that employment; 2. The Regulations are amended by adding the following after section 37: Maternity and Parental Plans 3. Paragraph 38(a) of the Regulations is replaced by the following: (a) when combined with the portion of the claimant's weekly benefit rate from that employment, does not exceed that claimant's normal weekly earnings from that employment; and 4. Paragraph 91(2)(a) of the Regulations is replaced by the following: (a) in the case of an initial claim for benefits, their date of birth and, if the initial claim is made by electronic means, the maiden name of the claimant's mother; and 5. (1) Subsection 92(2) of the Regulations is replaced by the following: (2) Subject to subsection (7), a claimant shall have their benefits deposited directly to their bank account if the claimant has provided the Commission with the number of an active account registered in the claimant's name in a financial institution in Canada. (2) Subsections 92(5) and (6) of the Regulations are replaced by the following: (5) In order to terminate the direct deposit of benefits, the claimant shall notify the Commission. (6) For greater certainty, sections 38 and 135 of the Act apply to declarations made in the context of the payment of benefits under this section. (3) Section 92 of the Regulations is amended by adding the following after subsection (7): (8) Unless otherwise advised by the claimant, the Commission may redirect the deposit of benefits from an active account at a financial institution the number of which was provided to the Commission by the claimant to another financial institution, branch or active account number when the financial institution notifies the Commission of a change of the financial institution, branch or account number. COMING INTO FORCE 6. These Regulations come into force on the day on which they are registered. [15-1-o] (Erratum) Regulations Amending the Employment Insurance RegulationsStatutory Authority Employment Insurance Act Sponsoring Department Department of Human Resources Development Notice is hereby given that some mistakes have slipped into the text of the Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement of the above-mentioned Regulations which was published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, Vol. 136, No. 13, dated Saturday, March 30, 2002. The paragraphs are therefore republished with the corrections appearing in bold face. On page 889 of the French version, the third reason that falls under "La Commission peut renoncer ou réduire le montant des intérêts lorsque :" should have read as follows: — l'accumulation d'intérêts sur une somme due ou sur le remboursement d'une pénalité imposerait au débiteur un préjudice abusif. Also on page 889, the second paragraph should have read as follows: A change has also been made to paragraph 56(1)(a) of the Regulations, which deals with the write-off of debts. This change stipulates that, when the total of indebtedness under any Human Resources Development Canada (HRDC) administered program is not more than $20 (previously $5 on EI debt), no benefit period is currently running for the debtor, and the debtor is not making any regular payments under a repayment schedule, the sum can be written off by the Commission. Furthermore, on page 890, the Insurance Policy Branch mentioned in the fourth paragraph should have read Insurance Policy. In the French version of the same paragraph, la Direction générale des investissements dans les ressources humaines should have read Direction du Fonds d'investissement dans les ressources humaines. Ottawa, April 13, 2002 [15-1] R.S., c. 24 (3rd Supp.), Part III SOR/91-419 SOR/91-419 SOR/88-456 SOR/88-510 SOR/93-234; SOR/91-419 SOR/91-419 SOR/93-234 SOR/93-234 SOR/91-419 SOR/93-234; SOR/91-419 S.C. 1996, c. 23 SOR/96-332 |
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