On Friday April 27th 2018, Bill S5, an act to amend the Tobacco Act and the Non-smokers’ Health Act and to make consequential amendments to other acts, completed 3rd reading in the House of Commons. The Hansard for 3rd reading can be viewed here: en | fr
The Legislative summary of S5 can be found HERE.
Where the bill goes from here
Since S5 was first introduced in the Senate, the bill as amended by the House of Commons will return to the Senate for final review and approval prior to Royal Assent. Despite a few amendments, S5 has remained largely unchanged from the initial version passed by the Senate, so the review process is expected to be quite short. Upon completion of the Senate review, S5 will receive Royal Assent. While nobody knows exactly when S5 will receive Royal Assent, it is unlikely to be dragged out past mid-June.
What happens upon Royal Assent
Vaping products not marketed with therapeutic claims will fall under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA), the Consumer Chemicals and Containers Regulations (CCCR, 2001), and other related acts and regulations. These Acts and Regulations come into effect immediately upon Royal Assent, and enforcement will begin very shortly thereafter.
Other sections of the bill such as marketing and reporting will require the development of regulations prior to implementation. The regulation development phase will include considerable consultation with stakeholders, and ECTA has already participated in preliminary discussions with Health Canada to that end. The regulations will take time to develop, and they are likely to be released in phases. Once complete, the newly developed regulations will include a delayed implementation period which will allow business time to make necessary compliance changes.
We want to emphasize that there will be no implementation delay when it comes to CCPSA & CCCR compliance. They come into force immediately upon royal assent per the Health Canada Notice to Industry.
ECTA members have been actively preparing for S5 Royal Assent since October 2017. Our compliance tools, services, and audits have been crucial to ensuring ECTA members are fully prepared for inspections and enforcement post-Royal Assent.
ECTA will continue to actively engage with Health Canada regarding regulation development while continuing to use our knowledge, experience, and resources to assist our members with all future compliance requirements.
Relevant reference links:
Consultation Summary: Proposals for the Regulation of Vaping Products: en | fr
Health Canada Notice to Industry (Upon Royal Assent): en | fr
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