Annual Report 2005–2006

President’s Message

As President and CEO of the Hazardous Materials Information Review Commission, it is my pleasure to present our Annual Report for
2005-2006.

The work of the Commission may not be highly visible to the general public, but it is essential to those stakeholders who depend upon the Commission to protect workers’ health and safety and protect industry’s trade secrets.

The Commission, an independent, quasi-judicial government agency created in 1987, is part of the Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) Program, a hazard communication system required by the federal, provincial and territorial governments. WHMIS ensures that employees using or exposed to hazardous materials have health and safety information about hazardous materials used in the workplace. The Commission was created with a mandate to grant exemptions from disclosure for bona fide trade secrets while at the same time ensuring that the documentation on the safe use of hazardous products provided to workers is accurate and complete.

The Commission’s dual role therefore is to ensure a balance between workers’ right to know what is in the products they work with and their hazards, and industry’s right to protect its trade secrets which are key to maintaining competitiveness in the domestic and international markets.

The protection of trade secrets is critical to the success of many suppliers of hazardous materials. Based on information filed by claimants pertaining to the value of their trade secrets during the last fiscal year ending March 31, 2006, the disclosure protection mechanism administered by the Commission has a value in the order of $624 million annually.

Another important part of the Commission’s mandate is the scientific review of the health and safety information to be supplied to employers and workers using the hazardous product. This part of our work is crucial, because employers and workers do not have access to the information protected as a trade secret, it is essential that all of the health and safety information they are provided is complete and accurate.

The Commission is unique in that its enabling statute, the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act, is incorporated by reference into the occupational health and safety legislation of provinces and territories. Its mandate is, therefore, carried out on behalf of the federal, provincial and territorial governments.

A key part of the governance of this multi-jurisdictional agency is its tripartite Council of Governors. The 18- member Council represents organized labour, suppliers, employers, the federal government and all provincial and territorial governments. It is unique to have these stakeholder groups at the same table and I am always impressed by their vigilance in carrying out their responsibilities in a positive and constructive manner and arriving at important decisions with unanimity.

As an agency striving to modernize, we called on our stakeholders to come together as partners in the renewal of the Commission’s operations. We engaged claimants, Commission staff and our Council of Governors to improve service delivery, increase transparency and accountability and make operations more effective. Many improvements have been implemented in the spirit of collaboration and partnership. The final leg of our renewal program involves three commitments to our Council of Governors, all of which require legislative amendments. The objectives of the renewal program were to make the operations of the Commission more transparent and efficient, with a focus on early compliance with health and safety standards, and each of these amendments take us further down the road to this goal.

The amendments will reduce the time required to review claims for exemption from disclosure of confidential business information, speed up the correction of the information workers need to handle hazardous materials safely, and expedite appeals process. The net result will be earlier access to complete and accurate information by workers on the safe handling of hazardous materials, which can only be positive for workplace health and safety.

Despite its successes, the Commission’s capacity continues to be challenged. Given our relatively small size and budget constraints, we have worked hard to be an organization that can respond quickly to change and effectively align our resources accordingly. We continue to seek data necessary to support strategic and operational planning needs and consistent with our commitment to improvement. We are reviewing our key functions and responsibilities vital to maintaining a modern and efficient organization that respects the values and principles we have built with our partners.

Looking back at this past year, I know that the successes we have enjoyed and those that await us are due to the dedication and capabilities of Commission staff. I look forward to continuing to work with this group of professionals, to collaborating with Council, clients and stakeholders in the year ahead as we work together to maintain our balancing act between workers’ right to know and industry’s right to protect trade secrets.

Weldon Newton