Canada risks being 'dumping ground' for dangerous toys: critics

Canada risks becoming a dumping ground for plastic toys that have been banned in the U.S. and Europe because they contain a toxic substance that can be dangerous to babies and young children, critics charge.

While Health Canada considers new rules for the sale of plastic toys containing the chemical substance 'phthalates', environmentalists suggest the Canadian pre-Christmas marketplace could become a dumping ground for products that are banned elsewhere.

A 2007 Health Canada survey of plastic vinyl toys in Canada found 76 per cent contained a level of phthalates not permissible in the U.S. or European Union.Sixty per cent of the toys contained Diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP) a particularly toxic phthalate thatHealth Canada is looking to regulate.

The toys include bath and water toys, inflatable crawling tubes, vinyl bibs, and toy cell phones, although Health Canada will not say which brands it tested.

"The danger that we face in Canada is that we will become the dumping ground," said Aaron Freeman, an environmental health lawyer with Environmental Defence in Ottawa.

"Because our laws are substantially weaker than the laws in U.S., Europe and elsewhere, the manufacturers in cheap manufacturing jurisdictions, like China and elsewhere, will be looking for places to dump their products, because they can't sell them in the United States and Europe any more. And Canada will be a great target for those countries to sell their products."

Studies show phthalates can be dangerous for children. "Some of the studies link (phthalates) to the development of Type2 diabetes in terms of obesity, problems with genital development in males, and also potential effects in the development of hormone-dependant cancer," said Dr. Hamid Habibi, aUniversity of Calgary physiologist.

Canada came close to banning phthalates with private members Bill C-307 The Phthalate Control Act, introduced by B.C. New Democrat MP Nathan Cullen. But it died on the order paper beforethe last federal election in October. With the current political crisis Ottawa, a new ban isn't likely to be proposed for a while.

In the meantime, Health Canada is drafting new guidelines for the sale of plastic toys containing phthalates but those guidelines are not yet in place.

U.S. retail giants Wal-Mart and Toys "R" Us have banned toys with phthalates. In Canada, however, Wal-Mart Canada says it has no way of knowing whether stores have removed them until they undertake compliance testing in 2009.

"I just don't think it's up to consumers to do a constant calculus every time they are walking up and down a store aisle, to try and figure out what's in a particular product," said Freeman."There's a role for government to play here."

Currently in Canada, labels on toy products don't declare the chemicals,so Christmas shoppers should look for toys that are not made of vinyl, also known as poly vinyl chloride. If the label shows a particular toy is made of PVC or hasrecycling symbol No. 3 consider buying something else. Not all vinyl toys have phthalates, but according to Health Canada's survey, many do.

The Canadian Toy Association, a non-profit agency that represents the $1.8-billion industry in Canada, said, "The safety of children isof the greatest importance" to its members.

It alsosaid it looks forward to Canada harmonizing its guidelines for the sale of vinyl children's toys with other nations.