Finally, a bit about the Canadian trail-of-safety-regulation

Because of the division of powers in Canada's Constitution, some products are subject to federal regulation, some to provincial and territorial regulation, and others still to both. Certain products may be subject to more than one piece of legislation, and may require review or oversight by one or more regulatory authorities.

And like the USA and the EU, regulations are created (e.g. the Hazardous Products Act and the Food and Drugs Act), authorities are created to regulate (e.g. the Product Safety Program), standards (e.g. http://www.scc.ca/en/programs/standards/index.shtml) are created with which to comply and organizations (e.g. the Canadian Standards Association - CSA) are created to test for compliance.

Gasp!

The intent of focusing to some detail on the product safety effect of these groups was to provide a global glimpse of the pervasive legal environment in which product safety endures. And as you can see the trail-of-safety-regulation in any part of the world can be quite complicated and can not be ignored.

But don't get too frustrated. Some helpful guidance is presented below, and fortunately, harmonization of many standards and laws is beginning to blossom through the efforts of international organizations such as ISO and IEC. This should smooth the trail-of-safety-regulation in the future.

INDUSTRIAL ORGANIZATIONS, ASSOCIATIONS CARE

There exist numerous Industrial Organizations and Associations that either require or strongly suggest that products comply with certain safety regulations before people within their purview design or use them. Some examples in the USA are: