Canada Revises Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulation

SafeGuardSHardgoodsJan 07, 2025

SG 003/25

Canada has amended the nation’s law on formaldehyde emissions from composite wood products to better align its requirements with those in the United States (US). This revision will become effective on March 18, 2025.

In June 2023, Canada consulted over the nation’s proposed amendments to the Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations (‘the Regulation’, SOR/2021-148) and the directive concerning testing for formaldehyde emissions (SafeGuardS 82/23).

On December 18, 2024, Canada issued Regulations Amending the Formaldehyde Emissions from Composite Wood Products Regulations (‘the Amendment’, SOR/2024-256) under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act, 1999 (CEPA).

This Amendment aims to:

Repeal accreditation requirements for laboratories carrying out routine quality control formaldehyde emission testing for legislative intent and consistency with US Toxic Substances Control Act Title VI (TSCA Title VI) ‘Formaldehyde Standards for Composite Wood Products’
Amend record-keeping requirements for all economic operators to minimize unintended burdens. These include, among other things, that sellers of composite wood products – whether panels, laminated products, component parts or finished goods – are no longer required to maintain declarations
Minimize international trade barriers by close alignment with TSCA Title VI
Include minor revisions to clarify certain requirements and correct technical aspects in the regulation
Align the English and French versions of the regulatory text

Highlights of several changes in the Amendment are summarized in Table 1

Section to SOR/2021-148, as amended by SOR/2024-256	Highlights
Section 1 ‘Definitions’	Adds definition for ‘accredited laboratory’ – a laboratory that is accredited to ISO/IEC 17025 ‘ General requirements for the competence of testing and calibration laboratories’, and includes testing to measure formaldehyde emissions from composite wood panels or laminated products in its scope of its accreditation
Section 4 ‘Non-application – installers’	Expands the scope of exemption to include these economic operators as they are not considered as ‘sellers’
Section 7(2) ‘Frequency’	Revises the frequency for the four-time annual specimen selection, testing and verification from ‘four date specific periods’ to ‘not less than 60 days and not more than 120 days after the day on which the previous selection was performed’
Section 16(4) ‘Re-test’	Clarifies the requirements for testing non-compliant lots
Subsection 16(5) ‘Notice of non-compliance to purchaser’	Extends the time for a person that has sold a composite wood panel or laminated product from a non-compliant lot to provide a notice of non-compliance to the purchaser from two days to 72 hours
Section 17 ‘Accredited laboratory’	Deletes section on accreditation requirements for laboratories conducting routine quality control formaldehyde emissions testing
Section 19(2) ‘Contents of declaration’	Emphasizes that the declaration of certification (DoC) must be in the form of a certificate in accordance with TSCA Title VI, or a document in English, French or both languages, for the product type Details the information required in the DoC
Section 20(1)(c)(i) ‘Labeling – Composite wood panels’	Modifies language in French version of the regulation
Section 26(1)(c.1) and (c.2) ‘Record keeping – Manufacturer – panels or laminated products’	Details the information and documents to be maintained by a manufacturer of composite wood panels or laminated products, or in relation to the shipping of such panels or laminated products

Table 1

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