Reference Manual for the WHMIS Requirements of the Hazardous Products Act and Controlled Products Regulations

HPA Section 20 - Disclosure

Help on accessing alternative formats, such as Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Word and PowerPoint (PPT) files, can be obtained in the alternate format help section.

Disclosure

20.(1) Where the Minister has reason to believe that a product, material or substance is a product, material or substance that may be included in a class listed in Schedule II by a regulation made pursuant to paragraph 15(1)(a), the Minister may, by registered mail, send a written notice to any person who is engaged in the business of manufacturing, processing, importing, packaging or selling the product, material or substance requesting the disclosure of information relating to the formula, composition, chemical ingredients or hazardous properties of the product, material or substance and such other information as the Minister deems necessary for the purpose of determining whether the product, material or substance is or may be a danger to the health or safety of any person who may handle it in a work place or be exposed to it in a work place.

(2) Every person to whom a notice referred to in subsection (1) is sent shall disclose to the Minister, in the manner and within the period specified by the Minister in the notice, any information described in subsection (1) that is requested in the notice and is in the possession of the person.

(3) Subject to subsection (4), information received by the Minister from a person pursuant to subsection (1) is privileged and notwithstanding the Access to Information Act or any other Act or law, shall not be disclosed to any other person except as may be necessary for the administration or enforcement of this section or for the purposes of section 15.

(4) The Minister shall not, when consulting with the government of a province or an organization of workers, organization of employers or organization of suppliers pursuant to section 19, for the purposes of section 15, disclose the name of any person from whom the Minister has received information pursuant to subsection (1) or any of such information that is specified, in writing, by the person as being confidential.

INTERPRETATION / DISCUSSION of SECTION 20

Information under this section will be requested solely for the purpose of determining whether Schedule II needs to be amended. Information will not be requested to enforce existing Regulations.

The requirement to provide information includes only that information which is in the possession of the person to whom the request is sent.

The use or disclosure of any information received pursuant to this section, except for the purpose of administering or enforcing this section or for the purpose of making regulations, is an offence under section 28 of the HPA and punishable by fine or imprisonment.

The Access to Information Act came into force on July 1, 1983. It provides a right of access by the public to information in records under the control of a government institution.

However, under paragraph 20(1)(b) of the Access to Information Act, records are exempt from scrutiny where they contain financial, commercial, scientific or technical information that is confidential information supplied by a third party and is treated consistently in a confidential manner by the third party.

This exemption is intended to protect information of a confidential nature provided by a business or other commercial interest to the government, regardless whether the information was provided pursuant to a statutory obligation or on a voluntary basis.