Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations

6 (1) In this section,

local government unit

local government unit means a city, metropolitan government area, town, village, municipality or other area of local government but does not include any local government unit situated within a bilingual district established under the Official Languages Act; (collectivité locale)

local product

local product means a prepackaged product that is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged in a local government unit and sold only in

• (a) the local government unit in which it is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged,

• (b) one or more local government units that are immediately adjacent to the one in which it is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged, or

• (c) the local government unit in which it is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged and in one or more local government units that are immediately adjacent to the one in which it is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged; (produit local)

mother tongue

mother tongue means the language first learned in childhood by persons in any area of Canada and still understood by them as ascertained by the decennial census taken immediately preceding the date on which the prepackaged product referred to in subsection (3) is sold to the consumer; (langue maternelle)

official languages

official languages means the English language and the French language; (langues officielles)

specialty product

specialty product means a prepackaged product that is

• (a) a food or beverage that has special religious significance and is used in religious ceremonies, or

• (b) an imported product

  • (i) that is not widely used by the population as a whole in Canada, and

  • (ii) for which there is no readily available substitute that is manufactured, processed, produced or packaged in Canada and that is generally accepted as being a comparable substitute; (produit spécial)

test market product

test market product means a prepackaged product that, prior to the date of the notice of intention respecting that product referred to in subsection (5), was not sold in Canada in that form and that differs substantially from any other product sold in Canada with respect to its composition, function, state or packaging form. (produit d’essai)

(2) All information required by the Act and these Regulations to be shown on the label of a prepackaged product shall be shown in both official languages except that the identity and principal place of business of the person by or for whom the prepackaged product was manufactured, processed, produced or packaged for resale may be shown in one of the official languages.

(3) Subject to subsections (4) to (6), a local product or test market product is exempt from subsection (2) if

• (a) it is sold in a local government unit in which one of the official languages is the mother tongue of less than 10 per cent of the total number of persons residing in the local government unit; and

• (b) the information required by the Act and these Regulations to be shown on the label of a prepackaged product is shown in the official language that is the mother tongue of at least 10 per cent of the total number of persons residing in the local government unit.

(4) Where one of the official languages is the mother tongue of less than 10 per cent of the total number of persons residing in a local government unit and the other official language is the mother tongue of less than 10 per cent of the total number of persons residing in the same local government unit, subsection (3) does not apply.

(5) Subsection (3) does not apply to a test market product unless the dealer who intends to conduct the test marketing of the product has, six weeks prior to conducting the test marketing, filed with the Minister of Consumer and Corporate Affairs a notice of intention in such form as the Minister may prescribe.

(6) A test market product shall, for the purposes of subsection (3) and paragraph 36(3)(a), cease to be a test market product upon the expiration of 12 cumulative months after the date on which it was first offered for sale as a test market product but any test market product that was acquired for resale by a dealer, other than the dealer who filed the notice of intention referred to in subsection (5), before the expiration of those 12 cumulative months, shall continue to be a test market product for the purposes of subsection (3) and paragraph 36(3)(a) until it is sold to a consumer.

(7) A specialty product is exempt from subsection (2) if the information required by the Act and these Regulations to be shown on the label of a prepackaged product is shown in one of the official languages.

(8) Where there are one or more surfaces on the label of a prepackaged product that are of at least the same size and prominence as the principal display panel, the information required by the Act and these Regulations to be shown on the principal display panel may be shown in one official language if such information is shown in the other official language on one of those other surfaces.

(9) A prepackaged product that is within one of the following classes of prepackaged products is exempt from subsection (2) if the information required by the Act and these Regulations to be shown on the label of a prepackaged product is shown in the language that is appropriate to the product:

• (a) greeting cards;

• (b) books;

• (c) talking toys;

• (d) games in which a knowledge of the language used is a basic factor essential to the use of the game.