Health Canada Issues WHMIS 2015 Guidance
Written By: Atanu Das on Tuesday, July 12, 2016
On February 11, 2015, the Government of Canada published the Hazardous Products Regulations (HPR) in the Canada Gazette, Part II. These regulations, combined with amendments to the Hazardous Products Act (HPA), modified the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) 1988 to incorporate the Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling for Chemicals (GHS) for workplace chemicals in Canada. This modified WHMIS is referred to as WHMIS 2015. With the incorporation of the GHS, the hazard classification and communication requirements of WHMIS are aligned with the workplace hazard classification and communication requirements of the United States (U.S.) and other Canadian trading partners.
Health Canada has developed Phase 1 of the Technical Guidance on the Requirements of the HPA and the HPR – WHMIS 2015 Supplier Requirements. The purpose of this technical document is to provide guidance on the requirements of the HPA and the HPR to suppliers of hazardous products destined for Canadian workplaces. This document also provides suppliers with detailed information on the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act and its regulations and the mechanism to protect CBl. For comparative purposes, variances between Canada and the U.S. are highlighted in the guidance. These variances are necessary in order to maintain the current level of protection for workers or due to the requirements of the respective legislative frameworks.
Health Canada intends to release the Technical Guidance in two phases in advance of the June 2017 milestone for transition for manufacturers and importers to comply with WHMIS 2015 requirements. Phase 1 of the Technical Guidance (attached) focusses on classification principles, hazard communication and Confidential Business Information (CBI). Phase 2 will focus on physical hazard and health hazard classification and is expected to be released in Fall 2016.
In addition, the development of this guidance fulfills a commitment under the Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC) Workplace Chemicals initiative. Consistent with the overall objectives of the RCC and as part of the Canada-U.S. RCC Joint Forward Plan, Health Canada continues to collaborate with the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration to promote ongoing alignment of hazard classification and communication requirements for workplace chemicals, without reducing the level of safety or of protection to workers.
Health Canada’s website at WHMIS.gc.ca has been updated to reflect the availability of the Technical Guidance. A PDF copy of the guidance can be requested via this link:
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