I have had several people ask me about the new Canadian car seat regulations that take affect January 2012.
This change was supposed to take place January 2011, but was delayed for a year so that manufacturers could have time to make the changes they needed to make to all of their seats. Here is my blog from last year — Canadian child car seats and what is happening in January 2011
This does not change the Ontario Laws.
The Ontario Law still states that:
- Rear-facing until 20lbs (with a recommendation of 1 year of age)
- Forward-facing in a 5pt harness until 40lbs and 40″
- Booster seat until age 8 or 4’9″ or 80lbs
Yep, that’s it. All of those number are on the very low side in my opinion. But those are the laws in Ontario.
Please read my other posts to know more about rear-facing, forward facing and booster seats.
So what are these new Canadian car seat regulations?
As stated on CTV News:
Forward-facing child car seats will have to accommodate children weighing up to 66 pounds, instead of the current 48 pounds.
An infant will be defined as someone weighing up to 22 pounds, up from the current 20 pounds.
How does this affect you and your child?
It means that when you go buy a new seat after January 1, 2012, the car seat will have to abide by the new regulations listed above.
You do not need to get rid of your current seat. It is still safe to use, as long is it is not expired!
However, it cannot be resold (not that we recommend that anyway) because it may not abide by the new regulations.
If you do want to sell or pass your seat to another parent:
If your seat was made prior to 2012, there is a good chance that it does not meet the regulations. You must call the manufacturer to see if the seat you want to sell/pass on meets the standards.
There are many seats already on the market that meet the new regulations already. This page gives a quick reference to see if your seat may be compliant — http://vicarseattechs.com/2012/quick-reference-to-2012-compliance/
It is ILLEGAL to pass on or sell a seat that doesn’t meet the standards. See Health Canada’s page for more info: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs/cons/garage-eng.php
Questions?
I know there will be more questions, please direct people to this post so that I can answer all questions in one location. As I’m sure others will have the same questions or will be looking for more information just like you are.
