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The Canadian Advisory Council on Electrical Safety (CACES) is a council of electrical regulatory and certification experts who volunteer their time and money to develop common solutions to electrical safety and regulatory issues in Canada.

CACES is authorized by Accredited Canadian Certification Organizations to work with them in an advisory capacity on all matters concerning the certification and testing of electrical products and systems in Canada. These matters include:

a. exchanging information on inspection and regulatory matters;

b. general monitoring of electrical safety and specific monitoring and reporting of problems encountered in the field with respect to safety and use of electrical products and systems;

c. recommendations concerning codes and standards;

d. recommendations concerning certifications and listings; and

e. establishing basic principles of electrical safety.

The council also advises accredited certification organizations on the suitability of new electrical products to meet existing codes or standards. The council’s advice can include information on the suitability of new products, new standards and certification, listing and examination practises.

CACES is not accredited by any government organization, and therefore its recommendations have no legal standing. Because its membership includes important influencers in electrical safety at the Federal, Provincial, Territorial and Municipal level, the committee’s decisions can have a major influence on how jurisdictions across Canada deal with similar issues concerning electrical safety and regulation. This arrangement is similar to the development of the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I, facilitated by the Canadian Standards Association, which was outlined in Part II of this series.

The membership of CACES consists of:

1. Provincial and Territorial Electrical Inspection authorities who are members of the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I Committee

2. Three municipal electrical inspection authorities who are members of the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I Committee

3. One member from Industry Canada, a division of the Federal Government

4. One member from the Standards Council of Canada (SCC)

5. One non-voting associate member from each participating Accredited Certification Organization

6. Other non-voting associate members as prescribed by CACES

The Council holds regular meetings twice per year which coincide with the meetings held by the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I, Technical Committee (TC). In order to attend and participate in the council, certification organizations must adhere to a list of guidelines. These guidelines include:

• Issuing updates on their certification listings to the Council members on a regular basis. The updates advise of new certifications granted, revisions to existing certifications, and certifications terminated.

• Providing certification reports and data on specific certified products as requested by a member regulatory authority.

• Providing evaluation reports and data for consideration of the acceptability of new product types.

• Being involved with the development and maintenance of Canadian standards in the areas for which the organizations have been accredited.

• Working to promote Canadian requirements and accepted Canadian standards.

• Providing the regulatory authorities, at no cost, with assistance regarding questions or problems concerning certified products.

• Providing a product recall mechanism in cooperation with the regulatory authorities.

• Developing a mechanism to ensure that certification markings relate product compliance to Canadian requirements, and

• Ensuring that requirements for certification in all regulatory authority jurisdictions remain consistent.

CACES members volunteer their time and are responsible for their own travel and other individual costs incurred for all meetings and teleconferences. The member certification organizations are responsible for all common expenses related to Council meetings and teleconferences. Member organizations are responsible for all expenses incurred regarding any special requests or meetings.

In addition to working with accredited certification organizations, CACES also provides a working structure which allows certification organizations to work with the Electrical Safety Regulators. Their time together working within CACES provides them with a forum to address issues on a collective basis and develop common solutions to certification issues. This can be a very cost effective and efficient way to resolve issues for both the regulators and certification organizations.

Part I of the Canadian Electrical Safety Regulatory System series described how, in Canada, there is no single Regulatory Authority, but two separate principles which govern the Canadian Regulatory System. The first of these is the formal legal or legislative arrangement that is the law as it applies to electrical safety in the Provinces and Territories of Canada and the second, the participation and cooperation of Canadian electrical safety stakeholders. CACES is a strong example of the cooperation that occurs between various members of the electrical industry through national committees. The association of chief electrical inspectors through these national committees creates a system that resembles a central regulatory authority, and clearly shows the importance that national committees such as the CACES and the CEC Part I, TC play in supporting the Canadian electrical regulatory authorities.

CSA International is an independent, not-for-profit organization supported by 9,000 members and has a network of offices in Canada, the United States and around the world. The CSA certification mark appears on more than one billion products worldwide.

William (Bill) Burr, is the director, Electrical & Gas Standards Development with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA), a leading developer of standards and codes. For 13 years prior to joining CSA, Mr. Burr was chief electrical inspector in the province of British Columbia and the Northwest Territories, respectively, as well as chair of the Canadian Council on Electrical Safety. Mr. Burr has also served on the Canadian Electrical Code, Part I, Technical Committee as well as numerous other CSA subcommittees. Bill is a member of the American Council on Electrical Safety (ACES) and has been an active member of the IAEI, previously serving as president of the Canadian Section, since 1982.

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