Tony talks toys

NEWS RELEASE

TONY MARTIN, MP

************************* Ban toxin in kids’ toys, Martin urges

SAULT STE. MARIE – The federal government must regulate the use of toxic chemicals in soft vinyl children’s toys in the wake of bans in Europe and the U.S., Sault MP Tony Martin said today.

Martin supports the private member bill of caucus colleague Nathan Cullen (NDP – Skeena-Bulkley) to ban the chemicals from use in cosmetics, medical devices and children’s products.

The House of Commons had already passed the bill unanimously last year but it died in the Senate when the federal election was called.

The government has still failed to regulate the industry despite mounting evidence of contamination.

“There is wide support for this regulation among MPs and the public,” Martin said. “The toxins are putting the health of Canadians at risk, particularly our children. Right now the government is not protecting our kids. The government needs to act.”

Despite a decade-old voluntary ban in North America, Health Canada tests recently found three-quarters of soft plastic toys and other items for young children for sale in Canada contained toxic chemical additives known to cause reproductive harm in Canada.

Consultations on a Health Canada proposal to ban one type of phthalates, DEHP, a chemical family used to soften plastic toys in children’s toys, ended in September 2007 but the government has yet to publish draft regulations.

Some retail giants have said they will not stock toys containing phthalates in 2009.

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