ICPHSO Réunion et colloque sur la formation Toronto – Octobre 2009 Concevoir un programme de sécurité des produits de consommation faisant appel à la collaboration des intervenants Suzane Aboueid, Santé Canada suzane_aboueid@hc-sc.gc.ca Welcome everyone. Today I will be speaking about an initiative we are working towards to Build a Consumer Product Safety and Stakeholders Collaboration Program. My name is Suzane Aboueid and I am from Health Canada’s Consumer Product Safety Directorate. My primary role is in Information and Education Outreach to Consumers and Industry.

Ordre du jour Qui nous sommes Pourquoi un projet de collaboration Principes directeurs Objectif et but du projet Approche proposée Modèle de collaboration Résultats prévus Prochaines étapes Défis prévus Conclusions Who we are Why a Collaboration Project – and how does it fit into our Food and Consumer Safety Action Plan? Guiding Principles – the collaboration project is participant driven and requires some guiding principles that need to be adhered to Project Objective and Goals – basically what do we hope to accomplish by this project? Proposed Approach – how are we going to accomplish our objective and goals? Collaboration Model – how do we work together with our stakeholders to make this project mutually beneficial? Anticipated Results – what do we expect, or hope, the results will be? Anticipated Challenges – what can we expect to slow down the process? Conclusions

Qui nous sommes Santé Canada veille à la protection des Canadiens par ses recherches, ses évaluations et sa collaboration à la gestion des risques pour la santé et à la sécurité associés aux nombreux produits de consommation que les Canadiens utilisent régulièrement Health Canada and its Consumer Product Safety Directorate work to help protect the Canadian Public from health risks and safety hazards associated with consumer products through regulatory process. We do this by researching and testing, assessing and collaborating with our stakeholders, industry and consumers.

Pourquoi un projet de collaboration? Pour jouer un rôle proactif dans la prévention de blessures associées à des produits Intensifier l’empreinte au Canada Officialiser ce que nous faisons déjà, mais sur une plus grande échelle Améliorer la diffusion de l’information plus rapidement et plus efficacement Inten-sifier l’em-preinte Officia-liser la sensibi-lisation Amé-liorer la diffu-sion Prévenir les bles-sures Colla-borer Health Canada’s Food and Consumer Action Plan mandates playing a pro-active role in the prevention of product related injuries. The Action Plan’s key action areas are Preventing Problems in the First Place - provide better safety information to consumers to encourage vigilance and to prevent as many problems as possible, Targeting the Highest Risks – enbaling us to keep a closer watch on products that pose the greatest potential of hazard to the public and Rapid Response – taking faster action to protect the public when a problem occurs . Consumer Product Safety’s (CPS) footprint needs to increase considerably in order to achieve this. Health Canada to continue to provide safety information to consumers in order to encourage vigilance to prevent as many product related incidents as possible – formalizing what we already do but on a larger scale and explore new ways of doing things like what we prepare in the way of materials and what we do with it. Currently, we have informal collaborative activities with many of our stakeholders … these include the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs with who we have recently launched a “No Sale to Minors” campaign for Matches and Lighters. We have also worked closely with Safe Kids Canada, the Canadian Pediatric Society as well as others such as the Early Childhood Education community who we have recently connected with and will be working closely with. Because it is impossible to reach all consumers through the Health Canada web site and CPS education initiatives alone, partnering with other consumer and injury prevention advocates will enhance distribution of information to the intended demographic faster and more efficiently. As well, Collaboration projects encourage creative and innovative processes by bringing together groups with diverse expertise and knowledge. The collaboration project will also help us become more open and transparent. Becoming transparent starts with being more visible, more open, and more comfortable disclosing information. This will gain the trust of not only our stakeholders, but Canadians as a whole.

Principes directeurs Résolu Inclusif Égal Volontaire Diversifié Responsable Any collaboration project needs Guiding Principles that promote equal engagement of all the parties. Purpose Driven – simply put, participants need a reason to participate in the project – essentially, what’s in it for them? Inclusive – all stakeholders with a significant interest in consumer product safety should be involved in the collaboration – bringing together those who represent similar interests such as child safety advocates for example. Equal – all stakeholders must have equal access to all information and have equal opportunity to participate in the process – collaboration must be open and fair. Voluntary – participation will always be voluntary and not enforced – all parties must be willing to invest the time and resources necessary, this is integral to the success of any project. Diverse – diverse values, interests and knowledge all stakeholders bring to the table should always be respected – this is also an opportunity for others to see where different groups are coming from and learn from each other – this openness also creates trustful and lasting relationships between stakeholders. Accountable – all participants must be accountable to their communities, to Canadians and to the collaboration project. Keeping all these principles in mind, we can continue speaking about what we hope to accomplish with the Collaboration Project.

Objectif et buts du projet Objectif du projet Créer et consolider les liens avec nos partenaires en travaillant ensemble pour assurer la santé et la sécurité des Canadiens Buts du projet Établir des relations de collaboration entre les responsables de la sécurité des produits de consommation et les intervenants Partager la responsabilité de diffuser l’information importante sur la sécurité des produits de consommation à la population du Canada Sensibiliser la population à la sécurité des produits de consommation Favoriser la prise en main des collectivités concernant la santé et la sécurité de leurs habitants Project Objective Essentially, we hope to create and fortify links with our partners who will work collaboratively with us to spread safety messages to the people of Canada. This should result in the creation of an environment that promotes interaction and the exchange of ideas. Project Goal The Consumer Product Safety and Stakeholders Partnership will be a cooperative relationship between CPS and stakeholders who will share responsibility for development and distribution of important safety information to people of Canada. This will potentially raise awareness and will foster community empowerment in regards to their health and safety.

Approche proposée Diffuser l’information en travaillant en partenariat avec les milieux suivants : Les organismes non gouvernementaux ayant des initiatives semblables en matière de sécurité Les administrations municipales et les gouvernements provinciaux Le milieu éducatif de la petite enfance Les organismes de soutien aux nouveaux immigrants au Canada Les organismes des Premières nations et des Inuits Et d’autres… comme des partenariats avec d’autres autorités There are many organizations that share our concern for the health and safety of people of Canada when it comes to consumer products. Currently, we engage several organizations during the consultations process and during various events throughout the year – for example Fire Prevention Week, Safe Kids Week and Poison Prevention Week. Our aim is to link with these organizations and formalize our relationship in regards to promoting health and safety of people of Canada when it comes to consumer products. Some of the types of organizations we would like to establish a more formal relationship with are: NGO’s with similar safety initiatives Municipal and Provincial Governments Early Childhood Education community, including both agency and home day care Organizations for New Immigrants to Canada by creating more culturally sensitive materials. First Nations and Inuit organizations. In some cases, Partnering with other jurisdictions such as the United States, European Union, and other international consumer product safety organizations . Among others

Approche proposée (suite) Encourager les intervenants à participer à l’élaboration des messages concernant notre sécurité Fournir aux organismes participants les outils nécessaires pour promouvoir les messages sur la sécurité des produits Peut-être créer une page Web sous SPC pour le programme de partenariat Distribuer des guides de mobilisation communautaire We will encourage stakeholder engagement in the development of our safety related messages. We will continue to provide participating organizations with the tools necessary to promote product related safety messages. This includes CPS pamphlets, posters, etc. It is proposed that creating a web page under CPS for the collaboration program where our partners would be listed and would also help in the formalizing process. It can be a “go to” place for our partners to get information. In turn, they would put a link to our web site on their site. Other collaboration programs such as the Neighbourhood Safety Network in the United States have web sites for their programs. As well, the creation of thematic community mobilization guide will help promote our safety messages, some generic, some specific > such as for Household Chemicals or Children’s Products or even products such as Blind Cords. These guides will also allow stakeholders to design a process appropriate to their audience, their circumstances and their needs.

Modèle de collaboration Évaluer les résultats Partager l’information Créer de la documentation Faire participer les intervenants Recueillir There will be many steps when collaborating with our stakeholders. Essentially, it will be cyclical and repetitive and will be subject based – for example promoting Blind Cord Safety. It would start with Gathering Information, Engaging Stakeholders & Creating Materials. We would find out what the concerns are and what the information needs are. We would ask the subject relevant stakeholders for their input or applicable statistics. We would need to determine the # of incidents reported and #of potential incidents if nothing is done. If we continue with the Blind Cord Safety example, let us say that the need revolves around choking hazards. So we would focus our message around keeping them out of reach and prepare materials together with our stakeholders. As well, we would set promotion goals. Next, we would Share Information. We would promote our safety message and any publications associated with it. Continuing with the Blind Cord Safety theme, we would have educational materials prepared and we would promote them though our traditional channels, via our web site and list serv, as well as events that our staff across Canada attend. In addition to this we would send the information to our collaboration stakeholders to also distribute to their groups. Finally, it is necessary to Evaluate Results. Basically, we need to assess whether or not we reached the promotional goal we set. This is included so that we can figure out which materials and methods are working and which ones might need to be readdressed to gain more of a response. Additionally, we need to assess incident statistics to see if our message has decreased incidents. We would also assess if we had any media pick up.

Prochaines étapes Examiner les processus actuels Créer un plan de projet Organiser un forum des intervenants Consulter les administrations municipales et les gouvernements provinciaux Créer des guides de mobilisation communautaire What are our next steps? Essentially, we need to do a needs assessment, we need to assess current and future stakeholder involvement, we need to sit down and talk to stakeholders and we need to turn this talk into actions. More specifically we need to: Review current processes to assess what we have in the way of materials determining any gaps present. Create a project plan to formalize what we want to do and how to do it. Stakeholder Forum to gather current and prospective stakeholders to discuss how we can work together to protect the health and safety of Canadians and make it mutually beneficial. Because this is large task, breaking it up into subject related groups (for example: children’s products or household chemicals) would make it more manageable. Consult with Municipal and Provincial governments to ensure we are on the same page with our messages and to determine how we can further support each other while still respecting boundaries. Create Community Mobilization Guides to distribute to stakeholders engaged in our Collaboration Program. These would include our materials and tips on how to promote specific messages, as well as other helpful information.

Défis prévus Voici certains des défis auxquels nous pourrions devoir faire face : Litératie – veiller à ce que le matériel de communication respecte le taux de litératie courant Traduction – quelles langues sont essentielles? Processus d’approbation – délai pour faire approuver des articles et des initiatives Budget – combien cela coûtera-t-il et quel montant pourrons-nous utiliser As with any initiative, there are challenges that we will face. Some of these challenges include: Literacy – presenting messages in Clear language is very important. We need to ensure that communication materials are at a common literacy rate. Translation Process – In Canada, all our materials are presented in English and French. However, there is a need to translate things in other languages depending on the need. For example, we have many of our materials translated into Inuktitut for our Inuit communities. We have also been looking into translating some of our materials into Chinese and Arabic because of large immigrant populations. In these demographics, there are a high number of grandparents who are the primary care givers for children in their family. Many of these grandparents do not speak English or French and a translated publication will be a useful educational and reference tool for them. There have been many requests for our publications in both Chinese and Arabic. There is a large contingent of new immigrants coming from both China and the Middle East who neither speak English nor French. According to Statistics Canada (2006 Census), of the immigrant population, over 2.5 million people originated from Asia and the Middle East. Furthermore, after English and French, Chinese is the language spoken most frequently in Canada. Arabic is not too far behind. In Canada, a total of 9.7% of the population speak only a non-official language at home. Among Chinese immigrants that number jumps to 63.4% and for Arab immigrants 33.7%. This represents a very large demographic of people who we cannot reach through our publications. Translating them will help us reach that demographic. Approval Process – the length of time it takes to get materials and initiatives approved needs to also be taken into account. We need to plan well in advance of an anticipated event. Budget – as well, how much the initiative will cost is an important factor. However, since these materials are already being produced, it is not anticipated that production costs will significantly increase. Again, these are anticipated challenges that we can prepare for, others might surface as we proceed with the project.

Conclusions Collaboration active Travailler ensemble à l’atteinte de buts communs Collaboration active Diffusion de messages sur la santé et la sécurité Prise en main par la collectivité Prévention des incidents I would like to finish by reminding everyone that Collaboration is working together towards common goals It is important to: Ensure that all significant interests are represented and respected Give a voice to all participants Provide a forum where new partnerships can be forged This means: spreading health & safety messages together with our partners; encouraging community participation and empowering them to take an active role in their health & safety; and working together to prevent incidents before they happen by educating people about consumer products and safety. When it comes to Consumer Product Safety, Health Canada has a large role to play, however, Industry has a role and Consumers have a role. Working together towards common goals is working together to ensure a healthy and safe Canada. Thank you.