Material Data Safety Sheet (MSDS)

A Material Safety Data Sheet is a document accompanying chemical products that includes product information, hazardous ingredients, physical data, fire and explosion data, reactivity data, toxicological data, preventative measures, first aid measures and other information.

The PGAC revised their MSDS for Propane in April 2010: [ View English PDF ]

Overview of MSDS Use:

Section 13 of the Hazardous Products Act (HPA) places a legal requirement on the Canadian supplier of a Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) controlled product "intended for use in a work place in Canada" to transmit a MSDS disclosing prescribed information as a condition of sale. Section 14 of the HPA places a legal requirement on the Canadian importer of a controlled product to obtain or prepare a MSDS as a condition of importation.

Section 23 of the Controlled Products Regulations (CPR) sets out the requirements for an imported controlled product that is to be labelled or repackaged in Canada. The Canadian importer who imports a controlled product in accordance with subsection 23(1) of the CPR must obtain or prepare a MSDS before the controlled product is used or sold in Canada.

A product, material or substance is a controlled product if it falls within any of the hazard criteria specified in Part IV of the CPR. A controlled product may be a "pure" substance, a tested mixture or an untested mixture. Section 33 of the CPR sets out the procedures for a supplier to establish whether or not a substance is a controlled product and does not apply to the determination of the information that must be disclosed on the MSDS.

Although the classification criteria specified in Part IV of the CPR may provide a useful guideline for certain MSDS information, it is section 12 and Schedule I to the CPR which set out what information must be disclosed on a MSDS. Subject to the trade secret provision under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Act, paragraph 13(a) of the HPA sets out what ingredients are subject to disclosure on the MSDS and section 4 of the CPR specifies the concentration above which those ingredients must be disclosed.

[ click here for links to applicable Acts, Regulations and MSDS databases... ]