Regulators rely on Canada’s standardization network to meet their mandates and policy objectives for public and environmental safety as well as economic development and competitiveness.
Regulators play an important role in the standardization system by:
- Participating in the development and maintenance of domestic and international standards,
- Identifying standardization needs,
- Reference standards and conformity assessment requirements in regulation, and
- Applying standards for conformity assessment (i.e., certification) as part of regulatory enforcement and monitoring
- Government and regulators use standards and conformity assessment to set and support policy and regulatory requirements. SCC works with regulators to develop accreditation schemes around those requirements, and in accordance with internationally recognized processes, that conformity assessment bodies (CABs) can use to verify industry compliance. This system allows for regulators to leverage the existing industry driven standardization system, increasing the effectiveness of regulations while reducing costs for government and industry, and providing assurances to consumers as illustrated below.