National Marine Manufacturers Association (NMMA) announced that on Thursday May 23rd, 2013, Member of Parliament (MP) Dan Albas, Okanagan-Coquihalla, made reference to his meetings with members of NMMA in the House of Commons during a debate on Bill S-12. In his remarks, Albas cites concerns made by members of NMMA as evidence for the need to improve trade for Canadian industries. NMMA Canada is pleased that our annual meetings in Ottawa for Day on the Hill created momentum in government and that the concerns of our members are being voiced by Members of Parliament in the House of Commons.

Bill S-12 is an Act to amend the Statutory Instruments Act and to make consequential amendments to the Statutory Instruments Regulations. It deals with regulatory drafting technique "incorporation by reference" for technical legislation and regulation. According to Albas, the Bill enables regulations to incorporate external material without having to duplicate that material.

In the debate, Albas references the meetings with NMMA Canada members who raised concerns over undesirable barriers to trade. Albas said: "Incorporation by reference has become an essential tool and is increasingly relied upon by governments to more efficiently develop their regulations. This approach also helps to standardize regulation in a universally understood language. That is of benefit to all. Last year I was visited by representatives of the National Marine Manufacturers Association. One of the challenges expressed by the Canadian marine manufacturing industry is the difficulty they have in meeting different regulations in different markets that they need to access. As members have heard before, I have said anything we can do to help Canadian industry access these markets, whether that means increased intergovernmental co-operation or collaboration, is a good thing and something I believe we should look at and support.

By incorporating the legislation of other jurisdictions with whom harmonization is desirable or by incorporating standards developed and respected internationally, regulations can minimize duplication and avoid repetition of the same material. It can avoid the need to reinvent the regulatory wheel, so to speak. Incorporation by reference can minimize and even avoid undesirable barriers to trade, an issue that, as I pointed out earlier, has been identified by the Canadian National Marine Manufacturers Association."

The full debate is available on the Government of Canada website >>
http://www.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Pub=hansard&Language=E&Mode=1&Parl=41&Ses=1&DocId=6171517&File=0#OOB-8031116

For more information or questions about NMMA's annual Day on the Hill, please contact Sara Anghel at sanghel@nmma.org

www.nmma.org