Amendments to the Weights and Measures Act

As you may be aware Measurement Canada has been working on amendments to the Weights and Measures Act and regulations.

This has been a long term project that began with various trade sector reviews which lead to a number of recommendations regarding the appropriate level of Measurement Canada intervention in the marketplace.

Amendments to the Weights and Measures Regulations were registered in the Canada Gazette, Part II (volume 148, No. 12) on June 4, 2014.

These regulatory amendments were required to implement the Act to Amend the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act and the Weights and Measures Act.

Highlights of the legislative and regulatory amendments include:

Requirement that measuring devices subject to the Weights and Measures Act be inspected at regular intervals in eight trade sectors (retail petroleum, downstream petroleum, dairy, retail food, fishing, logging, mining as well as grain and field crops) at this initial stage and possibly additional sectors later;
Providing non-government inspectors the authority to perform mandatory examinations (inspections) pursuant to the Weights and Measures Act, but enforcement activities will remain with government inspectors;
Increasing court-imposed fines under the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act and the Weights and Measures Act to $10,000 for minor offences, $25,000 for major offences and up to $50,000 for repeat offences, thus providing greater deterrence against measurement inaccuracy and improved consumer protection; and
Introducing administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) under both the Weights and Measures Act and the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act.

These legislative and regulatory amendments will come into force on August 1, 2014. The mandatory inspection frequencies will be phased in over a period of two to three years depending on the sector.

By August 1, a number of tools will be available on Measurement Canada’s website to assist your stakeholders in:

•   Finding authorized service providers
•   Determining the inspection frequency applicable to their device
•   Identifying when their device is due for its first mandatory inspection, and
•   Better understanding their legal obligations and the consequences of not meeting them.

Please consult Measurement Canada’s website on a regular basis for the most up to date information related to this initiative.

Please do not hesitate to contact Measurement Canada at MC.REG@ic.gc.ca should you have any questions related to this.