Following the recommendations of the Window & Door Manufacturers Association, on July 7, the Canadian government released the “annexed rule” for Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations, which revises its initial proposed rule to now harmonize U.S./Canadian the regulations and establish a level playing field for manufacturers who operate in both the U.S. and Canadian markets. Through the concerted efforts of WDMA and other stakeholders, the Canadian Department of the Environment revised the regulations to align with the United States TSCA VI Rule in regards to emission levels, scope of composite wood products that are covered under the rule and the method for and frequency of products testing.
While a thorough review of the annexed regulations is under way by WDMA staff and members of the WDMA National Architectural Door Council, the cursory review of the Rule appears to have satisfied most of the concerns raised by WDMA. According to the Canadian regulatory impact analysis, all efforts have been made to harmonize the Canadian regulations with the U.S. to the full extent possible. In addition, the regulations clearly indicate that products complying with the U.S regulations will be recognized as compliant with the Canadian Rule, provided the affixed labels are bilingual (in English and French). While there may be some minor administrative differences in the manner in which the Canadian government will implement these rules, most of the major concerns from WDMA have been satisfactorily addressed in the final ruling.
“We are pleased to see that the Canadian regulations have been revised to align to the extent possible with the regulations already in effect in the U.S.,” says Michael O’Brien, WDMA president and CEO. “In addition, knowing that the regulations specifically acknowledge that products that are compliant with the U.S. regulations will be deemed compliant with the Canadian regulations is a major win for all of our architectural wood door manufacturers who operate in both markets.”
Implementation of the Canadian regulations will go into effect Dec. 7, 2022, (18 months from the publication in the Canadian Gazette) for all products scoped in the regulation, except for the provisions related to testing and certification of laminated products, which will go into effect five years after the regulations are enforced. WDMA will continue to monitor these activities and provide updates as more information becomes available.
