The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) has officially accredited ASTM International and Underwriters Laboratories (UL) to develop national standards for Canada.
Both organizations already have a presence in the country, but accreditation by SCC means greater opportunity to resolve regulatory issues, create uniform standards, and benefit trade programs.
After a review of current Canadian standardization trends, SCC determined a need to make standardization activities consistent in the country for the government, industry, and consumers.
“Accreditation of ASTM International by the SCC is the formal recognition of ASTM’s competence to develop consensus standards that are of high technical quality and relevant for use in Canada,” Diane Thompson, director of ASTM’s Canadian office told Construction Canada Online. “Participation in Canada’s national standards system through SCC accreditation signifies a commitment by ASTM to meeting the needs of Canadian stakeholders in its standards development process.”
With increased standards development organizations (SDOs) able to operate in Canada, more standardization solutions will be available to governments, industry, and consumers.
“Additionally, with more standardization options available to regulators, harmonization issues related to inter-provincial standards may be reduced—increasing opportunities for domestic trade as well,” SCC’s CEO John Walter told Construction Canada Online.
With more SCC-accredited Canadian standards development organizations, additional benefits include:
- solutions to bilateral regulatory issues;
- harmonization of standards and increased opportunities for trade between Canada and the United States;
- additional support to the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan initiatives under the Regulatory Cooperation Council (RCC); and
- reduction of harmonization issues related to inter-provincial standards, increasing opportunities for domestic trade.
ASTM and UL already have numerous Canadian members on technical committees, with the former opening an office in Ottawa.
“Our primary goals are to build government and industry awareness, recognition, and support for ASTM International in Canada,” explained Thompson. “This will be achieved by establishing and maintaining relationships with government authorities, the private sector, academia, consumer groups, and other stakeholders who can contribute their input by participating in the ASTM standards development process as well as benefit from the application of ASTM standards in Canada.”
