the sudden light on consumer product safety

Recently, there has been a flurry of news pourring in from the States and here in Canada regarding consumer product safety.

Most notabley are the lead-filled toys imported from China. Whether it was Barbie or Hot Wheels, majority of us Canadians grew up playing with toys made by Mattel. If they were found to be made with lead and possibly other harzardous substances now, who's to say they weren't always "contaminated" from many decades ago. Quite possibly a lot of us have already been exposed to such hazardous substances as toddlers.

So why are these cases coming to light now? Are we doing enough here in Canada to ensure the safety of consumer products both made here domestically and imported from abroad? The White House is increasing the budget for the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Here in Canada, the Harper government has set up a website http://www.healthycanadians.gc.ca/ to inform Canadians about product recalls. But is this reactive approach enough? Shouldn't we stop these defective products from getting onto our store shelves in the first place?

Back in 1985, the federal Hazardous Products Act was passed. But unfortunately, now in 2007, our children is still playing with toys filled with poisoness lead. Where are the holes? Is the root of the problem at Health Canada, at Industry Canada, at International Trade? Or is foreign political relations getting in the way of consumer safety?