The Government of Canada has published its final amended regulations of the Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations (CANFER) and the good news for the kitchen cabinet industry is that the regulations that had manufacturers required to track wood products using formaldehyde through their supply chain have been removed.
The Canadian Kitchen Cabinet Association (CKCA) was part of a wood products industry coalition, The Right Reg, which advocated for changes to proposed regulations that would have placed onerous record-keeping responsibilities on Canadian businesses. The industry coalition argued that the primary record keeping responsibility should be on the company that is first placing the product on the Canadian market - either a domestic manufacturer or an importer of composite wood product.
The final regulations read that the primary burden for record keeping falls on the panel manufacturer or the importer of the product. All proposed language in the draft regulations regarding “Attestation” has been removed and no record-keeping is required by downstream companies or retailers.
Further technical changes to the regulations were made that have eased the regulatory burden and cost of doing business on domestic manufacturers and retailers of laminated products and finished goods.
The Government specifically cited consultations with The Right Reg as key to clarifying industry concerns and positively impacting the revisions made to the regulations document.
CKCA reminds its members who work with wood products containing formaldehyde that they are still required to register with the federal government. An email must be sent to Environment Canada (formaldehyde@ec.gc.ca) that includes the following information.
31 (1) Every person that manufactures, imports, sells or offers for sale a composite wood product that contains formaldehyde must provide the minister with the following information in writing:
(a) its name, civic and postal addresses, telephone number and, if any, email address as well as the name of its contact person; and
(b) a statement of whether it manufactures, imports, sells or offers for sale composite wood panels, laminated products, component parts or finished goods, as the case may be.
You can read the final regulations amending the Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations (CANFER) here.
“CKCA is pleased to have played a part in ensuring CANFER did not overwhelm Canada’s kitchen cabinet industry,” says CKCA President Amrita Bhogal.
“The originally published regulations would have drowned manufacturers in a sea of paperwork. Larger manufacturers would have had to have a full-time person assigned to manage the compliance requirements. So, it is very good news that we have dodged the bullet. The Right Reg representation to government demonstrates how important industry advocacy is, and the positive outcomes that can result with effective advocacy.”
Sandra Wood, executive director of CKCA says: “CKCA wishes to take this opportunity to express our appreciation to all members of The Right Reg including CKCA members who wrote letters to government to campaign for revisions to the regulations. In addition, we want to extend our sincere thanks to several associations who stepped up on this issue, particularly the International Wood Products Association and the Composite Panel Association. A special thank you to Elizabeth Baldwin of Metropolitan Hardwood Floors who quarterbacked much of the coalition’s efforts. It was an onerous task as, collectively, the members of The Right Reg submitted over a hundred pages of very detailed commentary to substantiate its suggested revisions to the formaldehyde regulations.”
