Canada - Revision of the Corded Window Coverings Regulations under the CCPSA

Children in Canada continue to be at risk of strangulation from corded window coverings (CWCs). The average fatality rate is slightly more than one child death per year. Since 1991, actions taken to help reduce the risk of strangulation by CWCs, including outreach and education activities, voluntary measures by industry, the development of a Canadian national standard, and the enactment of the Corded Window Covering Products Regulations(CWCPR) in 2009, which incorporate by reference the national standard, have not resulted in a sufficiently reduced fatality rate.

Health Canada is aware of 30 fatalities in Canada involving strangulation from CWCs between 1989 and 2009, before the enactment of the CWCPR, for an average fatality rate of 1.4 child fatalities per year over that period. Over the past nine years, since the CWCPR has been in force, Health Canada is aware of 9 fatalities in Canada for an average fatality rate of 1.0 child fatalities per year.

In 2014, Health Canada completed a risk assessment on CWCs to assess the strangulation hazard, including the effectiveness of the CWCPR to address the hazard. The risk assessment found that CWCs with accessible cords continue to present an unreasonable risk of injury or death to young children, even when they are compliant with the CWCPR.

Updates to the regulatory requirements for these products are necessary to provide stronger protection for children in Canada. Although the voluntary standard for CWCs in the United States was recently updated in 2018, alignment with the requirements of this new standard would allow the risk of strangulation to persist because it allows long accessible cords on many products, it does not sufficiently address the underlying issues leading to fatalities. The existing Canadian market offers many safer, affordable, and easy-to-use alternative operating systems for window coverings. Innovative, safe designs are emerging and can be brought to market in a cost-efficient manner.

For the chemical part:

Lead content

3 Every external component of a corded window covering must not contain more than 90 mg/kg of lead when tested in accordance with the principles set out in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development document entitled OECD Principles of Good Laboratory Practice, Number 1 of the OECD Series on Principles of Good Laboratory Practice and Compliance Monitoring, ENV/MC/CHEM(98)17, the English version of which is dated January 21, 1998 and the French version of which is dated March 6, 1998.​