Tech Watch: Canada Updates Tents Regulations
On 20 November 2024, Health Canada published the new Tents Regulations (SOR/2024-217) in the Canada Gazette, repealing the previous Tents Regulations (SOR/2016-185).
The new regulations now incorporate the safety requirements outlined in the Canada General Standards Board’s (CGSB) standard CAN/CGSB-182.1-2020 Flammability and labelling requirements for tents (“the CGSB Standard”), as amended over time. Additionally, the Toys Regulations has been amended to add flammability performance, and fire-safety labelling requirements for children’s play tents not intended for outdoor shelters. The Textile Flammability Regulations have also been amended to exclude products now regulated under the amended Toys Regulations.
The new regulations intend to enhance protections against hazards posed by tent fires by improving the flammability test methodology and reducing the need for the use of flame-retardant chemicals in tent materials. The previous regulations referenced sections of the outdated CPAI-84 (1995) standard, “A Specification for Flame-Resistant Materials Used in Camping Tentage,” which may have led to the use of harmful flame retardant chemicals to achieve compliance. In contrast, the CGSB Standard utilises a balanced approach to assess the flammability performance of tents, allowing mass loss as a performance criterion, incorporating revised criteria for flaming debris, and eliminating the after-flame time requirements.
The scope of the new regulations continues to include children’s tents designed for outdoor shelters, such as youth camping tents, youth sun shelters, and play tents resembling a camping tent. However, children’s play tents not intended to provide outdoor shelter are now subject to the amended Toys Regulations, which defines a children’s play tent as a “toy intended to be entered by a child.” The amended Toy Regulations require these children’s play tents to meet the flammability performance requirements specified in ISO 8124-2, Safety of toys – Part 2: Flammability and to have fire-safety labels that alert caregivers to keep children’s play tents away from heat sources or open flames.
The new regulations took effect on 20 November 2024, with a two-year transitional period which will allow the industry to deplete existing stock that complied with the previous regulations.
Additionally, the new regulations establish compliance periods for future updates to the CGSB standard. When the CGSB standard is amended, the compliance periods are as follows:
- Manufacturers and importers: One year to comply with either the amended standard or the standard as it was before the amendment.
- Advertisers and sellers: Two years to comply with either the amended standard or the standard as it was before the amendment.
Similarly, the amended Toys Regulations provide compliance periods for updates to ISO 8124-2:
- Manufacturers and importers: 180 days to comply with either the amended standard or the standard as it was before the amendment.
- Advertisers and sellers: One year to comply with either the amended standard or the standard as it was before the amendment.
For questions and additional information, please contact Dr. Pratik Ichhaporia
(Pratik.ichhaporia@cpt.eurofinsus.com, +1-669-837-2257) or David Hong (David.Hong@cpt.eurofinscn.com)