Consumer Packaging and Labelling Regulations (C.R.C., c. 417)

Application of Label to Prepackaged Product

• 7 (1) Subject to subsection (2), the label of a prepackaged product shall be applied to the container in which the product is displayed for sale to the consumer.

• (2) Where the container of a prepackaged product is mounted on a display card, the label may be applied to the side of the display card that is displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use.

8 Where the container of a prepackaged product is a wrapper or confining band referred to in paragraph (f) of the definition principal display surface in subsection 2(1), the label shall be a ticket or tag and shall be attached to the wrapper or confining band.

9 Subject to subsection 7(2) and section 10, all or part of the label of a prepackaged product shall be applied to the principal display surface of the container of that product.

10 Where the container of a prepackaged product is an ornamental container, all of the label of the prepackaged product may be applied to the bottom of the container or to a tag that is attached to the container.

11 The label of a prepackaged product shall be applied in such a manner that the prepackaged product will bear the label at the time it is sold to the consumer.

Part of Label on Which Information to Be Shown

12 The following information shall be shown on the principal display panel:

• (a) the net quantity of the prepackaged product;

• (b) the identity of the prepackaged product in terms of its common or generic name or in terms of its function; and

• (c) such other information required by the Act or these Regulations to be shown on the principal display panel.

13 Subject to section 10, the identity and principal place of business of the person by or for whom a prepackaged product was manufactured or produced for resale shall be shown on any part of the label except that part of the label, if any, applied to the bottom of a container.

Size of Type in Which Information to Be Shown

• 14 (1) For the purposes of this section and sections 15 and 16, the height of a letter means the height of an upper case letter where words appear in upper case and the height of the lower case letter “o” when words appear in lower case or in a mixture of upper and lower case.

• (2) The numerical quantity in the declaration of net quantity shall be shown in bold face type in letters of not less than the following height:

  • (a) 1/16 inch (1.6 millimetres), where the principal display surface of the container is not more than five square inches (32 square centimetres);

  • (b) 1/8 inch (3.2 millimetres), where the principal display surface of the container is more than five square inches (32 square centimetres) but not more than 40 square inches (258 square centimetres);

  • (c) 1/4 inch (6.4 millimetres), where the principal display surface of the container is more than 40 square inches (258 square centimetres) but not more than 100 square inches (645 square centimetres);

  • (d) 3/8 inch (9.5 millimetres), where the principal display surface of the container is more than 100 square inches (645 square centimetres) but not more than 400 square inches (25.8 square decimetres); and

  • (e) 1/2 inch (12.7 millimetres), where the principal display surface of the container is more than 400 square inches (25.8 square decimetres).

• (3) Where a container is mounted on a display card, the declaration of net quantity may be shown on the principal display panel of the label applied to the container or on the principal display panel of the label applied to the display card but the height of the letters in the numerical quantity of the declaration of net quantity shall, for the purpose of subsection (2), be proportionate to the total area of the side of the display card that is displayed or visible under normal or customary conditions of sale or use and not to the principal display surface of the container.

• (4) All information in the declaration of net quantity other than the information referred to in subsection (2), shall be shown in letters of not less than 1/16 inch (1.6 millimetres) in height.

• (5) [Repealed, SOR/2018-108, s. 383]

15 Information that is required by the Act and these Regulations to be shown on a label, other than in the declaration of net quantity, shall be shown in a manner easily legible to the consumer under normal or customary conditions of sale or use and shall be in letters of not less than 1/16 inch (1.6 millimetres) in height.

16 Notwithstanding section 15, where the area of the principal display surface of a container is 1.55 square inches (10 square centimetres) or less, and where all the information that is required by the Act or these Regulations to be shown on a label is shown on the principal display panel, such information, other than the information in the declaration of net quantity, may be in letters of not less than 1/32 inch (0.8 millimetre) in height.

Declaration of Net Quantity

17 Where the declaration of net quantity is in terms of metric and Canadian units, those units shall be grouped together, except that any symbol that is required to be shown pursuant to the Hazardous Products Act or any regulations made under that Act may be shown between and immediately adjacent to those units.

18 [Repealed, SOR/2018-108, s. 384]

Exemption from Metric Net Quantity Declaration and Type Size Requirement

• 19 (1) For the purposes of this section,

  area

  area means an area within the meaning of subsection 337(1) of the Weights and Measures Regulations; (région)

  floor covering

  floor covering means floor covering within the meaning of section 342 of the Weights and Measures Regulations; (couvre-plancher)

  individually measured commodity

  individually measured commodity[Repealed, SOR/2018-108, s. 385]

• (2) Prepackaged products that are packaged from bulk on a retail premises, other than wallpaper or floor covering, are exempt from paragraph 4(1)(b) of the Act and from section 14 of these Regulations, if the net quantity of the product is clearly shown on the principal display panel of its label in terms of a Canadian unit.

• (3) [Repealed, SOR/2018-108, s. 385]

• (4) [Repealed, SOR/2018-108, s. 385]

20 [Repealed, SOR/78-789, s. 2]

Manner of Declaring Net Quantity

21 Subject to sections 22, 23 and 36, the declaration of net quantity of a prepackaged product shall show the quantity of the product

• (a) by volume, when the product is a liquid or gas or is viscous, or

• (b) by weight, when the product is solid,

unless it is the established trade practice to show the net quantity of the product in some other manner, in which case the declaration shall be in accordance with the established trade practice.

22 The declaration of net quantity of a prepackaged product that is packed for dispensing in aerosol form shall show the net quantity of the product by weight.

• 23 (1) The declaration of net quantity of non-perforated rolls, sheets or other units of wrapping paper, plastic foil, aluminum foil, waxed paper, wall paper, adhesive tape or other non-perforated bidimensional products shall show the net quantity of the product by

  • (a) the number of rolls, sheets or other units in the package, if there is more than one;

  • (b) the length and width of each roll, sheet or other unit; and

  • (c) the area measurement of the roll or the total area measurement of all sheets or other units if each roll, sheet or other unit is more than four inches (10.2 centimetres) in width and more than one square foot (9.29 square decimetres) in area.

• (2) The declaration of net quantity of rolls, sheets or other units of bathroom tissue, facial tissue, paper towels, paper napkins and other bidimensional products that have one or more plys and are sold in separate or perforated individual units shall show the net quantity of the product by

  • (a) the number of rolls, sheets or other units in the package, if there is more than one;

  • (b) the length and width of each separate or perforated individual unit;

  • (c) the number of plys of each separate or perforated individual unit unless the product is one of a class of products that is made only in a single ply; and

  • (d) in the case of roll products, the number of perforated individual units in the roll.

• (3) Where the package contains different bidimensional products, the net quantity of each such product shall be shown as required by this section.

Units of Measurement

24 The declaration of net quantity in Canadian units for a measurement of volume less than one gallon shall be shown in fluid ounces, except that 20 fluid ounces may be shown as being one pint, 40 fluid ounces as being one quart, 60 fluid ounces as being three pints, 80 fluid ounces as being two quarts or 1/2 gallon and 120 fluid ounces as being three quarts.

25 The declaration of net quantity in metric units shall be shown in the decimal system to three figures, except that where the net quantity is below 100 grams, millilitres, cubic centimetres, square centimetres or centimetres, it may be shown to two figures and, in either case, any final zero appearing to the right of the decimal point need not be shown.

26 Where a net quantity less than a whole number is shown in the declaration of net quantity of a prepackaged product in a metric unit, it shall be shown

• (a) in the decimal system with the numeral zero preceding the decimal point; or

• (b) in words.

27 Subject to section 27.1, where the declaration of net quantity of a prepackaged product is shown in metric units, the metric units shall be in

• (a) millilitres, where the net volume of the product is less than 1 000 millilitres, except that 500 millilitres may be shown as being 0.5 litre;

• (b) litres, where the net volume is 1 000 millilitres or more;

• (c) grams, where the net weight is less than 1 000 grams, except that 500 grams may be shown as being 0.5 kilogram;

• (d) kilograms, where the net weight is 1 000 grams or more;

• (e) centimetres or millimetres, where the length is less than 100 centimetres;

• (f) metres, where the length is 100 centimetres or more;

• (g) square centimetres, where the area is less than 100 square centimetres;

• (h) square decimetres, where the area is 100 square centimetres or more, but less than 100 square decimetres;

• (i) square metres, where the area is one square metre or more;

• (j) cubic centimetres, where the cubic measurement is less than 1 000 cubic centimetres;

• (k) cubic decimetres, where the cubic measurement is one cubic decimetre or more but less than 1 000 cubic decimetres; and

• (l) cubic metres, where the cubic measurement is one cubic metre or more.

27.1 Notwithstanding paragraph 27(c), where the net weight of

• (a) a prepackaged product that is packaged from bulk on a retail premises, or

• (b) a prepackaged catch weight product that is sold by a retailer

is less than 1 000 grams and the declaration of net quantity is shown in terms of metric units of weight, the metric units may be shown in terms of grams or a decimal fraction of a kilogram.

Prepackaged Products Consisting of Products Packaged Separately

• 28 (1) Where a prepackaged product is sold as one unit but consists of two or more products that are packaged separately and labelled with the information required to be shown on prepackaged products, the declaration of net quantity shall show

  • (a) the number of products in each class and the identity of each class in terms of common, generic or functional name;

  • (b) the total net quantity of products in each class in the unit or the individual net quantity of each identical product in the class in the unit; and

  • (c) if a class of product in the unit contains only one product, the net quantity of that product.

• (2) Despite subsection (1), if a prepackaged product referred to in that subsection consists of less than seven identical products that are packaged separately and those products are labelled to show all of the information required by the Act and these Regulations and that information is clearly visible at the time of sale, no information is required to be shown on the prepackaged product being sold as one unit and the prepackaged product is exempt from sections 4 and 10 of the Act.