Canada's Notification Authority and Enquiry Point

International trade agreements such as the (WTO), and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) include transparency provisions that require signatories to establish a central contact point designated to provide early and appropriate notifications on certain federal and sub-federal government measures (laws, regulations, binding policies and guidelines, etc.).  The measures (new or modified) to be notified include those that may have an effect on international trade, no matter if it is restricting or facilitating, and are classified as a technical regulation or conformity assessment procedures in the WTO Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Agreement or a sanitary or phytosanitary (SPS) measure under the WTO SPS Agreement. In addition, this office deals with enquiries from other WTO members and the public on those measures or related issues, as well as ensures that answers to reasonable enquiries from other Members and interested parties are provided along with relevant documents.  This central point is called the Notification Authority and Enquiry Point.

Canada’s Notification Authority and Enquiry Point provides a single window for the delivery of Canadian transparency requirements under the WTO TBT/SPS Agreements, NAFTA and several of Canada’s other free trade agreements.

Services and Products

In fulfilling Canada's obligations under various trade agreements, Canada’s Notification Authority and Enquiry Point offers the following services and products to interested stakeholders:

  • Supporting Canadian regulators in identifying issues for notifications and preparing relevant documentation;
  • Providing notification and related documentation to Canada's WTO and other partners of proposed new or amended technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures, and SPS measures as required by Canadian trade agreements;
  • Forwarding of comments received on domestic and foreign measures to the appropriate regulatory agency for consideration;
  • Responding to technical enquiries on a variety of topics including: national, foreign and international standards; Canadian and foreign technical regulations; conformity assessment procedures; and SPS measures;
  • Providing full texts of technical regulations, conformity assessment procedures, and SPS measures notified.

You can contact Canada’s Notification Authority and Enquiry Point by e-mail at enquirypoint@international.gc.ca or by mailing or calling:

Canada’s Notification Authority and Enquiry Point
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Technical Barriers and Regulations Division
111 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2
Tel: (343)203-4273 or Toll Free in Canada & the United States: 1-844-465-0626
Fax: 613-943-0346

Resources


  • You can get timely updates about new product requirements or food safety rules by signing up with the WTO's "ePing" service. The ePing notification alert system enables timely access to such information and facilitates dialogue among the public and private sector to help address potential trade problems at an early stage.