How a Claim is Evaluated

Claim Validity

The screening officer normally decides whether a claim is valid by reviewing the summary of information provided by the claimant against the criteria set out in the Hazardous Materials Information Review Regulations (HMIRR). If any representations are received from affected parties or when the claim is chosen under the validation provision for a more detailed review, the screening officer requests the substantiating information discussed in 13(1.1) of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act (HMIRA) and uses all the information to come to a decision on the claim's validity.

Compliance of a Material Safety Data Sheet and Label

A screening officer determines whether the material safety data sheet (MSDS) and any label(s) submitted with the claim for exemption complies with the applicable Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (Also see Why File a Claim?).

In cases where the total formulation of the controlled product is not supplied or is not already evident from the MSDS, the claimant is contacted and asked to provide the chemical identity and concentration of any ingredient present at 0.1% or greater. A literature search is initiated to gather available hazard information that may be relevant. The reason why we do this is that if a product has not been tested for toxicological hazards, then it's any known hazards of its ingredients which are relevant to the product.

When the literature search has been completed, HMIRC contacts the claimant to verify that the most recent version of the MSDS for the product has been provided. At this time, the claimant has the opportunity to submit any toxicological studies or other information used to prepare the MSDS.

Evaluators then begin the review and evaluation of any toxicological studies, supporting information and the materials 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 information on the degree to which the claimant's MSDS and any labels 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 among the claimant, the Director, MSDS Compliance Division and the screening officer.

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

Once the review of the information from all sources is completed, the Screening Officer will make the final decision on MSDS compliance.

Next steps in the evaluation process:

The Screening Officer records the results of the review and the decision on both claim validity and MSDS compliance in a document called Statement of Decisions. If the decision was that the MSDS was not compliant, the claimant is offered the opportunity of making any necessary changes voluntarily. In that case the document becomes a Statement of Decisions and Compliance Undertaking.

Statement of Decisions and Compliance Undertaking

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

Where the MSDS/label does not meet WHMIS requirements, the screening officer drafts a document called a Compliance Undertaking, which outlines the specific corrective changes that need to be made. Before issuing the Statement of Decisions and the Compliance Undertaking, the screening officer will contact the claimant for a brief discussion on the final undertaking document. The undertaking procedure gives the claimant the option to voluntarily make the indicated corrections, thus avoiding the issuance of a formal order to comply. To take advantage of the undertaking, the claimant must sign that they accept the decision of non-compliance, and provide a revised copy of the MSDS/label containing all corrective changes indicated by the screening officer.

The claimant is given a period of 30 days in which to take advantage of the undertaking. If the claimant decides to submit an amended MSDS, the screening officer will review it and, if satisfied, will accept the undertaking. If the claimant does not return a signed copy of the undertaking within the specified time period, or if they do and the MSDS is judged non-compliant, the screening officer will issue a formal order that all the corrective changes be made. All Statements of Decisions and orders refer to the publication of a formal notice in the Canada Gazette and specify the time period in which the necessary changes must be completed. The order includes a requirement for the claimant to provide a copy of the amended MSDS to HMIRC, to ensure that the changes have been completed as ordered.