The Globe and Mail

After about 1.5 million drop-side cribs were recalled for safety reasons in Canada in less than two years and many major retailers stopped carrying them altogether, Health Canada has announced that it is pursuing an outright ban on the product.

The department launched a public consultation on Wednesday on a proposal to change federal regulations to prohibit the sale, advertisement and importation of cribs with a drop side. The consultation is the first step in the regulatory process of enacting a ban.

Only a handful of children’s products have been banned by Health Canada in the past, including baby walkers, toys with a surface coating that contains lead, arsenic, mercury or other heavy metals, and toys that emit noise exceeding 100 decibels.

“We only take regulatory action with respect to specific products when we have a real concern that the hazards posed by that product are something Canadians need to be protected against,” said Kaarina Stiff, associate director of the Consumer Product Safety Branch at Health Canada.

The safety of the cribs have been mired in increasing controversy in the past few years as numerous reports emerged in Canada and the U.S. of infants suffocating, becoming entrapped or being injured after the drop side became detached. Health Canada said that in many cases, the hardware on the cribs can break or fail, causing the drop side to detach and create a space between it and the crib mattress, which can entrap infants.

In the past decade, Health Canada received 93 reports of problems involving drop-side cribs, including seven reports of bumps and bruises, one concussion and one death. The department said the death was linked to a crib that was in a state of disrepair.

In the U.S., there have been 32 reports of infant and toddler suffocation and strangulation linked to drop-side cribs, as well as hundreds of reports of drop sides becoming detached.

Feedback received during the public consultation will help to guide the department’s decision on how to proceed with the proposed prohibition, but at this point the evidence demonstrates that a ban on drop-side cribs is the best course of action, Ms. Stiff said.

Health Canada’s proposal would also ban cribs that have sides not rigidly attached to the crib ends. The prohibition would also apply to online retailers and stores where cribs are often sold second-hand, such as eBay and craigslist.

But the new rules would allow cribs with sides that have movable upper portions, giving caregivers easier access to babies.

Although federal Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq said in a news release on Wednesday that the safety of children’s products “is of the utmost importance to our government,” some wonder why it took this long for the government to move on a potential ban, considering that concerns with drop-side cribs have been around for years.

“I’m absolutely astounded that this hasn’t been put to bed,” said Bruce Cran, president of the Consumers’ Association of Canada. “I would urge the minister to do whatever it takes to get this done now and not wait for further consultations.”

It’s possible Health Canada will face resistance from the Juvenile Products Manufacturers Association, an industry group representing companies that sell children’s products. The group often touts the safety of drop-side cribs when they are used correctly. A spokesperson for the group could not be reached on Wednesday.