Exemptions for confidential business information for workplace hazardous products: Claim registration and validity
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Registering a claim
For your claim to be registered, it must be complete and be accompanied by the:
- safety data sheet or label associated with the claim for exemption, in both English and French
- required fee
After receiving your claim through the online application form, we will send you an invoice number. You will have 30 days to complete payment with Accounts Receivable. If you do not complete payment, your claim will not be registered.
Validating a claim
After registering your claim, we review it to ensure that it meets the validity requirements set out under the Hazardous Materials Information Review Regulations.
For a claim to be deemed valid, it must meet the following criteria:
- the information must be confidential to you
- you must have taken measures that are reasonable under the circumstances to maintain the confidentiality of the information
- the information must have actual or potential economic value to you or to your competitors because:
- it is confidential and
- the disclosure of the information would result in:
- a material financial loss to you or
- a material financial gain to your competitors
We may also consider an additional criterion regarding investments in research and development to support a claim validity decision. This includes expenditures and other business resources that you employed to develop the product.
When reviewing your claim for exemption, we may find your claim:
- Valid: the confidential business information (CBI) requested in your claim meets the criteria.
- Partially valid: some of the CBI requested in your claim meets the criteria - you may only protect the CBI that was found to be valid.
- Invalid: none of the CBI requested in your claim meets the criteria and your claim for exemption is not granted.
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Exemption period
Exemptions are valid for a period of 3 years, beginning the day after all judicial reviews and appeals are exhausted. Exemption periods may be affected in the case of a suspension or cancellation.
You must inform us in writing of any changes in composition for any product that is subject to a 3-year exemption.
Service standards
Claims for exemption are subject to service delivery standards as outlined in the table below.
The service standard starts when Health Canada receives a complete application and payment, and ends when Health Canada issues a registry number, date of filing and communication on validity of the claim to the claimant.
The time the application is with the claimant, following a request from Health Canada for additional information, does not count towards the service standard.
| Number of claims filed in an application (original/refiled claims) | Service delivery standard for the issuance of the registry number and communication on claim validity |
|---|---|
| 1 to 15 | 10 business days |
| 16 to 25 | 15 business days |
| 26 and above | 20 business days |
Terminating an exemption
If you no longer need to protect your CBI, you may request to terminate your exemption at any time during the 3-year exemption period.
Reasons for terminating may include:
- CBI is disclosed
- Using prescribed concentration ranges
- No longer selling or importing the hazardous product in Canada
If one of these scenarios applies to your exemption, contact us to process your termination request.