The Canadian Product Safety Pledge is a voluntary agreement between Health Canada and online marketplaces to improve product safety which launched in Fall 2023. The first annual report (2023-2024), which covers a year of data from signatories Amazon Canada and eBay Canada, highlights the progress made and areas for improvement. Since the report was finalized, one new signatory, Temu, has joined the Canadian Product Safety Pledge
Key highlights from the report include:
- Proactive Measures: Signatories are using advanced technology, like machine learning and AI, to prevent unsafe products from being listed. One company developed a model to check for bilingual (English and French) labels on product images.
- Rapid Response: Both Amazon and eBay demonstrated a 100% compliance rate in removing 78 requested product listings from sale within two business days.
- Enhanced Consumer Communication: Companies directly contacted consumers who purchased recalled products, significantly improving the effectiveness of recalls. They also expanded their efforts beyond the scope of the pledge to include other product categories like medical devices and food.
- Continued Challenges: The report notes that some unsafe products still bypass existing filters, often due to third-party sellers altering product names. There were also delays in providing contact information for some sellers.
Moving forward, Health Canada will work with signatories to strengthen commitments, improve reporting consistency, and encourage more online marketplaces to join the pledge.
