Q&A With A Recall Representative From Health Canada

Whether it's your child’s go-to snack or their favourite toy, recalls can affect products you use every day. From 2021 to 2022, children’s products made up 15 percent of recalls in Canada and ranked second in the top five categories for recalled consumer products. 

If you’re looking for a place to start, Today’s Parent’s new recall alert system is here to help you get the essential information you need to make informed decisions and prioritize safety for your family. We spoke with Health Canada’s consumer product safety officer, Alvin Munian, to get a breakdown of everything parents need to know about how product recalls work in Canada.

Let’s start with the basics: How does a toy or child product get recalled in Canada?

When there is a health or safety issue that comes to our attention, we contact the responsible establishment to gather more information, such as test reports or other data based on that information. If it's determined that there is a health or safety issue, we request the company to do a voluntary recall.

Once they have agreed, we post the information, including any corrective measures or whatever the company has in place to control the product, onto our website so consumers are aware of what to do. The company would also notify its supply chain so that the product is no longer offered for sale. 

What should parents know about voluntary versus mandatory recalls? Is there a difference in how those are enforced or followed up?

Voluntary recalls are when the company has agreed to do the recall. Mandatory recalls are when the company has been ordered to do a recall. They kind of refuse to recall but are obligated under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act to do so. So we would order them to do a recall. But we would like them to do a voluntary recall because it's like we're working together.

What’s the most common reason a children’s product ends up being recalled? Is it always tied to reported injuries, or can testing alone trigger it?

It could be through injuries, but it also could be if the product doesn't meet regulatory requirements under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act. There are various acts under that, like stroller regulations, where they would need to meet certain criteria, and if they don't meet that certain criteria, the product could be recalled.

Are there any trends in those recalls, like increases in battery-powered toys or tech-based products?

We do have a dashboard of incident reports that we have received, and it shows the trends.

Can you give us an example of how car seats sold in Canada differ from those in the USA for parents?

Car seats are under Transport Canada, so they mandate the regulations under the Consumer Product Safety Act. What we look for is that it contains the National Safety Mark, so it's approved in Canada. And then we also look for some labelling requirements, but actual legislation for car seats is under Transport Canada.

Is there a common misunderstanding about recalls that you'd love to clear up? 

At Health Canada, we act as a post-market regime. So, like I said, there's no pre-market approval requirement. It's up to industry members to ensure that the products they're selling in Canada meet the legislation. 

What’s the best way for parents to check if a product they’re buying secondhand (online or at a garage sale) has been recalled? What’s your recommended shortcut?

I recommend that parents check our Healthy Canadians website. It lists all the products that have been recalled in Canada. So, if they are thinking about purchasing a second-hand children's product, they should check to see if it has been recalled. I would also strongly encourage them to sign up for updates on the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act.

How can parents report a product they think might be dangerous, even if there hasn’t been a recall? Is it helpful to report near-misses?

Yes, absolutely. We strongly recommend or encourage parents to file incident reports, which can be done through our online form. We review all the reports to check their validity and take necessary action if necessary.

What’s new or changing in 2025? Is Health Canada rolling out any tools, apps, or alert systems to make this process easier for parents?

We do have social media platforms that send alerts so that parents can be aware. They can get messages instantly about what's happening with consumer product safety. I would also recommend that parents go to our website under Consumer Product Safety. There are lots of resources there for them to become more educated on consumer products.