The federal Hazardous Products Act and the pursuant Hazardous Products Regulations, which apply to suppliers, define which materials (i.e., hazardous products) are included in the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) and set out what information suppliers must provide to employers for controlled products used in the workplace.

Pursuant to section 18 of the Workers Compensation Act, WorkSafeBC administers the requirements, and enforces federal requirements on suppliers, of Canada’s Hazardous Products Act:

• Part II, section 12
• Schedule 1

The following are summaries of key sections of the Hazardous Products Act.

Sales and import requirements apply (summary)

Suppliers selling or importing a hazardous product for use, handling, or storage in a workplace in Canada must:

• provide a safety data sheet (SDS) for the hazardous product; and
• make sure the hazardous product or its container is labelled with all required information and pictograms.

An SDS is a technical bulletin that provides detailed hazard and precautionary information.

For more information on SDSs, see Part 4 and Schedule 1 of the Hazardous Products Regulations.

For more information on labelling, see Part 3 of the Hazardous Products Regulations.

These requirements do not apply to the sale or import of:

• explosives defined by the Explosives Act;
• cosmetics, devices, drugs, or food defined by the Food and Drugs Act;
• pesticides defined by the Pest Control Products Act;
• nuclear substances defined by the Nuclear Safety and Control Act;
• hazardous waste;
• consumer products defined in section 2 of the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act;
• wood or products made of wood;
• tobacco or tobacco products defined in section 2 of the Tobacco and Vaping Products Act;
• manufactured articles.

For details, see Part II, section 12 and Schedule 1 of the Hazardous Products Act (Canada).