Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch

Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch (HECSB) mission is to help Canadians to maintain and improve their health by promoting healthy and safe living, working and recreational environments and by reducing the harm caused by tobacco, alcohol, controlled substances, environmental contaminants, and unsafe consumer and industrial products.

On this page:

• Offices and Programmes
• Branch Policies

Work done within the HECSB's Programmes touches on many aspects of day-to-day living in Canada; issues like drinking water, air quality, alcohol and drug use, toy safety, smoke detectors, the safety of cosmetics and personal care products, and second-hand smoke, as well as how new products of biotechnology and new chemicals may affect Canadians, fall within the scope of HECSB's mandate.

HECSB Responsibilities

• regulating radiation emitting devices
• regulating consumer products, cosmetics, and workplace hazardous materials
• regulating tobacco and controlled substances, and providing drug analytical services
• defining and communicating requirements for the manufacture, labelling, distribution and sale of cosmetics, and evaluating compliance
• assessing new substances and products of biotechnology for regulations
• assessing and reducing health risks posed by environmental factors including noise
• promoting consumer awareness of actual and potential product-related hazards
• promoting healthy work environments and delivering occupational health and safety services
• promoting initiatives to reduce and prevent the harm caused by tobacco and the abuse of alcohol and other controlled substances
• encouraging the design of safer products for the Canadian market

The Science and Research Serving Canadians Report provides a comprehensive overview of the science carried out in the Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch (HECSB) to improve understanding of the nature, calibre and reasons science is performed and used in HECSB. The science conducted across the programmes ensures a strong evidence base that supports policies, programmes, regulations, and legislation. In addition to providing a description of science programmes within the Branch, the overview demonstrates how HECSB programmes are working to address current and emerging health priorities.

Offices and Programmes

HECSB is organized into six Programmes, each with responsibilities for a wide variety of policies, programs and services, which are planned, coordinated and delivered by staff located in every region of the country.

• Consumer Product Safety Directorate
• Environmental and Radiation Health Sciences Directorate
• Policy Planning and Integration Directorate
• Safe Environments Directorate

Branch Policies

• Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA)
• Compliance and Enforcement Policy
• Policy Statement For Bumper Pads
• Policy Statement for children's electrical "Bounce Houses"
• Policy Statement for Electric Shock Gag Novelty Products
• Policy Statement For Hammocks Intended To Be Used By Infants And Young Children
• Policy Statement for Lawn mowers
• Policy Statement for Playpen Attachments
• Prohibition on the Advertisement, Sale or Import of Children's Toys with Plant Seeds as Stuffing (Hazardous Products Act)