Product liability laws in Canada: what you need to know

Buying products has never been easier nowadays, but when these products turn out to be defective, what are the remedies of the buyer and the liabilities of businesses or companies? Product liability law guides both sides when a case for product liability arises.

What is product liability law in Canada?

Product liability refers to the liability or responsibility of manufacturers, advertisers, or sellers in compensating its consumers for the injury they suffered, or for the damage caused to the consumer’s property because of their defective product.

Product liability law governs the litigation or resolution of cases (also called product liability claims) as a result of the injury or damage caused by these defective goods or products.

Recent Articles

The plaintiff in a product liability claim may be the injured consumer who bought the defective product. It may also be the heirs if the buyer or customer died.

On the other hand, the defendant may be a combination or the manufacturer, the advertiser, the importer, the seller or retailer, or any other entity involved in the chain of production and distribution.

In Canada, the sources of product liability law are federal laws and provincial legislation on product liability and consumer protection.

In addition, common law principles on product liability will also apply to all provinces of Canada, except for Québec where its Civil Code prevails.

1. Federal product liability law

Although the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) covers all consumer products, there are also other federal laws which will apply to specific products, such as:

• Food and Drugs Act: for food, drugs, cosmetics, medical equipment, and therapeutic devices;
• Pest Control Product Act: for pest control products;
• Motor Vehicle Safety Act: for motor vehicles, and its equipment; and
• Hazardous Products Act: for hazardous products.

Any violation of these federal product liability laws may result in a criminal offense, civil liabilities, and even a class action suit in some cases.

The Canadian Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) has critical provisions to protect your business while ensuring product standards.https://t.co/ruhBvg5rlY

— QualitySmartSolution (@qualitysmart) July 12, 2023

Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA)

Through the CCPSA, Canada aims for products in the market to be safe. The CCPSA does this by:

• enforcing certain rules covering consumer products
• enacting specific guidelines to be followed by businesses for compliance
• providing remedies for consumers who are injured by defective products

Specific provisions of the CCPSA prohibit the manufacturing, importing, advertising, and selling of consumer products (Sections 5-11, CCPSA) that:

• are listed under Schedule 2 of the CCPSA;
• do not comply with the standards according to its appropriate Regulations;
• are considered a danger to human health or safety;
• are a subject of a recall order by Health Canada;
• are a subject of a voluntary recall by its manufacturer, importer, advertiser, or seller;
• are a subject of a corrective measure that is yet to be implemented; or
• are packaged or labelled in a misleading or deceptive way regarding its safety, its certification, or its compliance with safety standards or its appropriate Regulations.

In addition, the CCPSA imposes obligations to businesses regarding their products, such as:

• to prepare and safekeep records and documents (Section 13, CCPSA) for the purpose of product tracing, reporting, and recalls
• to determine and report any incident as defined in the CCPSA (Section 14, CCPSA)
• to cooperate and assist any inspector from Health Canada when an inspection of the business’ compliance with CCPSA is being conducted (Section 21(5), CCPSA)
• to voluntarily recall, take any preventive measure, or comply with a recall order issued by Health Canada when a product is found to be defective or hazardous (Section 32-33, CCPSA).

Any business which violates the CCPSA may be imposed with:

• an administrative monetary penalty, which includes fines, in relation to a notice of violation; or
• a criminal charge, which includes fines and/or imprisonment

Canada’s Criminal Code

Aside from the criminal charges found in the CCPSA and other federal product liability laws, the Criminal Code of Canada also defines a criminal offense in relation to defective products.

Under the Code, a person or an entity may be liable for criminal negligence if their acts or omissions show neglect of other people’s safety.

Companies engaged in the business of manufacturing, importing, advertising, and selling of products may be charged with criminal negligence. This is especially true because these businesses owe a certain degree of care to their customers.

2. Provincial product liability law

Provinces have also enacted their own product liability laws, which may also be a source of product liability claims regarding defective products. Some of these laws are:

• Ontario:Consumer Protection Act, 2002 and Sale of Goods Act
• British Columbia:Sale of Goods Act
• Québec:Consumer Protection Act
• Alberta:Sale of Goods Act

Québec’s Civil Code provisions on negligence and warranties also apply as one of the product liability laws in this province. If you plan to file a lawsuit due to defective products, speak to a product liability litigation lawyer in Québec for more details.

3. Common law on product liability

As part of product liability law, Canada’s common law defines certain principles which will govern the filing of cases for a product liability claim.

There are three instances where a product liability claim may arise:

1. Breach of contractual warranty: when the defendant has breached any of the implied and express warranties in a contract of sale
2. Breach of statutory warranty: when the defendant has breached any of the warranties that are stated either in the federal or provincial product liability laws
3. Tort-based liability: where the defendant has been negligent either in the product’s design, manufacturing, advertising, labelling, or failed to warn its consumers of the product’s hazards.

Canada’s common law also states that there is no strict liability under Canada’s laws defining what is a product liability. As such, in a litigation for product liability claims, the plaintiff must prove:

• that the product is defective, either in its design, its manufacturing, or its marketing
• that the defendant (the manufacturer, importer, advertiser, or seller) was negligent of its duty of care to the plaintiff
• that the negligence of the defendant was the cause of the product’s defect

What is an example of product liability law?

Some examples where product liability laws may apply are:

• when some parts of a vehicle are defective, which is the cause of an accident;
• when a medicine or drug was later found to be harmful; or
• when a medical device was faulty because of its design.

To know more about the product liability laws in Canada, consult with the Lexpert best-ranked product liability litigation lawyers in Canada.