Vol. 151, No. 10 — May 17, 2017

Registration

SOR/2017-80 May 5, 2017

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES ACT

Order Amending Schedules I and IV to the Weights and Measures Act

P.C. 2017-463 May 5, 2017

His Excellency the Governor General in Council, on the recommendation of the Minister of Industry, pursuant to paragraph 6(1)(a) and subsection 11(2) of the Weights and Measures Act (see footnote a), makes the annexed Order Amending Schedules I and IV to the Weights and Measures Act.

Order Amending Schedules I and IV to the Weights and Measures Act

Amendments

1 Part II of Schedule I to the Weights and Measures Act (see footnote 1) is repealed.

2 Part III of Schedule I to the Act is amended by adding the following after item 18:

 

Derived Unit

Symbol

Definition

19

radian

rad

the unit for the measurement of a plane angle, being the angle with its vertex at the centre of a circle and subtended by an arc of the circle that is equal in length to its radius

20

steradian

sr

the unit for the measurement of a solid angle, being the angle with its vertex at the centre of a sphere and subtended by an area on the spherical surface equal to that of a square with sides equal in length to the radius

3 (1) Item 6 of the table “For Measurement of Electricity” of Schedule IV to the Act is replaced by the following:

Item

Standard Number

Description

6

EL-1954

Standard Capacitor Model 1404A, manufactured by IET Labs, Inc., having serial
number D3-13091298

(2) Item 12 of the table “For Measurement of Electricity” of Schedule IV to the Act is replaced by the following:

Item

Standard Number

Description

11

EL-1955

Multifunction Transducer (W/Wh/VA/VAh/var/varh/V/Vh/V2h/I/Ih/I2h), Radian Dytronic Model RD-23-433, manufactured by Radian Research, Inc., having serial number 207286

12

E-1877

Standard Capacitor Model NK30, manufactured by Haefely Trench AG, having serial number 060565/2

13

EL-1947

High Precision Decade Resistor Model HPRS-C-5-0.01, manufactured by IET Labs, Inc., having serial number E1-1112783

14

EL-1948

Three-Stage Electronically Compensated Current Transformer, manufactured by the National Research Council of Canada, having serial number ECCT-2010-001

15

EL-1949

Electronically Compensated Current Transformer, manufactured by the National Research Council of Canada, having serial number ECCT-2010-002

Coming into Force

4 This Order comes into force on the day on which it is registered.

REGULATORY IMPACT ANALYSIS STATEMENT

(This statement is not part of the Order.)

Issues

The Weights and Measures Act governs legal units of measurement, the use of approved and examined weighing and measuring devices that meet established legislative and regulatory requirements, and the accurate measurement of products and services traded on the basis of measurement.

In order for the quantity and accuracy of the products and services traded on the basis of measurement to be comparable, the units of measurement used must be those that are the most widely recognized by domestic and international trading partners. Schedule I of the Weights and Measures Act defines and categorizes the units of measurement used in Canada.

The General Conference on Weights and Measures (CGPM), the primary international body for intergovernmental treaties responsible for the International System of Units (SI), made changes to the classification of the radian and steradian, and Schedule I of the Act is amended accordingly. These units were previously classified as supplementary units, but are now classified as derived units of measurement.

The reclassification of these units is also recognized by the International Organization of Legal Metrology (OIML), the International Bureau of Weights and Measures (BIPM), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the United States and the Canadian Standards Association (CSA).

In addition to the modification above, the list of reference standards in Schedule IV of the Weights and Measures Act used by Measurement Canada for electricity measurement is updated.

Metrology is based on the concept of traceability, which allows the calibration of a standard or measuring apparatus to be traced to a known standard. Confidence in marketplace transactions is assured when the accuracy of measuring devices used in measurement-based financial transactions are traceable to recognized reference standards. It is therefore imperative that the list of reference standards in Schedule IV of the Act be current and that these standards be traceable to international references.

Objectives

The first purpose of this amendment is to modify the classification of two units of measurement in Schedule I of the Weights and Measures Act. This is required for Canada to be aligned with current classifications in the SI. Additionally, an update of the reference standards listed in Schedule IV of the Act is necessary to remove and replace outdated reference standards used by Measurement Canada.

Description

An amendment to Schedule I of the Act is required in order to align Measurement Canada’s classification of units of measurement to that of the SI. The radian and steradian are removed from Part II of Schedule I where they were classified as supplementary units of measurement and are moved to Part III of Schedule I and now properly identified as derived units of measurement.

Additionally, Schedule IV of the Act is modified to list the reference standards used by Measurement Canada for the measurement of electricity. The modifications will remove two outdated reference standards and add six new standards to the Schedule.

Consultation

No external consultation on the substance of these amendments has been carried out. These amendments do not alter the intent of the schedules of the Act or impose new restrictions or burdens on the general public or any party subject to the requirements set out in the Act.

“One-for-One” Rule

The “One-for-One” Rule does not apply to this proposal, as there is no change in administrative costs to business.

Small business lens

The small business lens does not apply to this proposal, as the proposed amendments are not expected to increase costs or regulatory burden on small business.

Rationale

These changes to Schedules I and IV of the Act are required to ensure Measurement Canada’s unit of measurement classification properly aligns to the SI and that reference standards used by Measurement Canada for electricity measurement are accurately represented in the Weights and Measures Act.

Contact

Carl Cotton
Vice-President
Measurement Canada
Telephone: 613-941-8918
Email: carl.cotton@canada.ca