Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health, speaking in Toronto on March 10, 2011.Peter Power/The Globe and Mail
Ottawa wants to crack down on the amount of toxic cadmium in children's jewelry.
Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq is proposing guidelines to restrict cadmium to 130 parts per million, since swallowing, sucking or chewing the trinkets carries serious health risks.
The restriction is essentially a ban.
Health Canada says there is no known problem from just wearing the jewelry, but ingesting cadmium is dangerous.
The government will collect feedback on its proposed guidelines until October 10.
Once passed, the new rule will let Ottawa follow up with suppliers believed to be selling toys laced with cadmium, conduct risk assessments and even issue orders for a recall or corrective measures.
Prosecution is also possible.
Lead has long been banned from children's jewelry, so manufacturers are increasingly replacing lead with cadmium, another heavy metal, Health Canada said.
Both lead and cadmium may have harmful effects on the behaviour and development of children, even with minimum exposure.
Last fall, the department asked importers, retailers and manufacturers to voluntarily keep cadmium-laced jewelry off the market.
But new legislation now gives the department more powers to enforce consumer safety measures. Ottawa says it now has the leeway to make the voluntary ban far stricter.
"With the new Canada Consumer Product Safety Act now in place, the law is clear," Ms. Aglukkaq said in a press release.
"Consumer products that pose a danger to human health or safety may not be manufactured, distributed, imported or sold in Canada. This proposed guideline makes our expectations of industry clear."
If need be, Ms. Aglukkaq says she will move to regulate cadmium - a process that takes longer than passing a guideline.
There's no word on whether Ottawa will extend the cadmium ban beyond children's jewelry.