The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) is delighted to participate in the celebration of Canada’s 150th anniversary of Confederation. Each month in 2017, we have featured stories about standardization and SCC’s progressive leadership to deliver innovative standardization solutions and how they have helped to shape Canada’s history. Access the complete series of articles about Canada's Leadership in Standardization: Celebrating Canada 150.

The National Research Council (NRC) has played – and continues to play – an important role in Canadian standards and standardization.

Based in Ottawa, NRC was established in 1916 during World War I to advise the government on matters of science and industrial research. Today, NRC remains the primary national research and technology organization of the Government of Canada. It focuses on business-led research and reports to the same federal minister as the Standards Council of Canada – the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development.

The NRC and SCC work together to offer accreditation of calibration laboratories. In fact, the NRC was a member of SCC’s first lab accreditation partnership back in 1988. That partnership created a national accreditation program for calibration laboratories.

Today, SCC offers accreditation to calibration laboratories in cooperation with NRC’s Calibration Laboratory Assessment Service (CLAS). Calibration laboratories verify the accuracy of measuring instruments and reference standards for areas of metrology. In Canada, the accreditation of calibration laboratories is the shared responsibility of SCC’s Accreditation Program for Calibration Laboratories and NRC CLAS. In support of the Canadian National Measurement System, the CLAS program provides quality system and technical assessment services and certification of specific measurement capabilities of calibration laboratories.

The NRC`s role in standards and standardization dates back to 1977, when the NRC became responsible for national building and fire codes. As part of that responsibility, NRC ensured that the national building and fire codes recognized and incorporated the standards and conformity assessment services offered at that time. The relationship between SCC and the NRC has only grown stronger over the past 40 years.