Appeals

An appeal can be filed by a claimant (a supplier or employer who makes a claim for exemption under the  Hazardous Materials Information Review Act); or by an affected party, as defined in subsection 2(2) of the  Hazardous Materials Information Review Regulations.

An appeal can relate to:

• decisions and orders on the validity of a claim for exemption and the material safety data sheet (MSDS) or label to which it relates;
• an order on the compliance of an MSDS or label related to a claim for exemption; and,
• an undertaking between Health Canada and a claimant to voluntarily correct safety and health information found to be non-compliant.

In addition, an Appeal Board may order a claimant to disclose information with respect to a claim for exemption - to certain affected parties, in confidence - for reasons of health and safety in a workplace. Claimants and affected parties have 45 days to launch an appeal, from the date that the Notice of Decisions, Orders or undertaking is published in the  Canada Gazette. The procedure for dealing with appeals and conducting appeal hearings is established by the  Hazardous Materials Information Review Act Appeal Board Procedures Regulations.

The length of the appeal process varies with the complexity of the case. For each appeal filed, a notice of appeal is published in the Canada Gazette to provide affected parties an opportunity to make representations to the Appeal Board.

When an appeal is launched, the requirement to comply with the decisions or order originally made about the claim is held in abeyance, pending the outcome.

The final outcome of the process is a decision by the Appeal Board to either: dismiss the appeal and confirm the decisions or orders of the screening officer; or, allow the appeal, and either vary or rescind the decisions or orders being appealed.