Where to donate toys and baby equipment in Ottawa

Baby walkers are listed in Schedule 2 to the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act, and section 5 states that no person shall manufacture, import, advertise or sell a consumer product listed in Schedule 2. The Act defines a baby walker as one mounted on wheels or another device permitting movement, with an enclosed area supporting the baby sitting or standing so their feet touch the floor, enabling horizontal movement. Health Canada's guidance for garage sale vendors lists baby walkers among products that are banned in Canada, states that it is illegal to sell or give them away, and instructs that if you have one in your possession you should destroy and discard it so it cannot be used. Walkers are still sold in other countries, and prohibited products are subject to being detained at the Canadian border, so one brought or shipped in from abroad is caught too.

This is the point most people get wrong. The Canada Consumer Product Safety Act defines "sell" to include distributing a product "to one or more persons, whether or not the distribution is made for consideration". Health Canada puts it plainly: the requirements do not distinguish between new and used products, and any person who sells, distributes or gives away a non-compliant consumer product is breaking the law in Canada. It also states that when you sell a used product it is your responsibility to make sure it is safe, even if it is being given away for free, and that everyone holding a garage sale is legally responsible for ensuring the products being sold, whether new or used, are safe and meet current regulatory requirements. Handing a banned crib to a neighbour, or putting a walker on the curb with a "free" sign, is not a way around any of this.

Health Canada lists traditional drop-side cribs among products whose sale is banned under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act and its regulations, and states that it is illegal to sell or give these products away. The mechanism is the Cribs, Cradles and Bassinets Regulations, which permit only an "access side" whose bottom part is stationary and whose top part has adjustment positions, with a mechanism that latches or locks automatically and requires two separate, deliberate and simultaneous actions to release. A side rail that slides down bodily cannot meet that definition. Separately, Health Canada states it is illegal to advertise, import, sell or give away cribs that do not meet current requirements, and that cribs manufactured before September 1986 likely do not meet them. It also does not recommend using cribs older than ten years, as they are more likely to have broken, worn, loose or missing parts.

Useful for deciding on the spot whether a crib is a donation or a disposal item. Spacing between the bars must be no more than 6 cm (2 3/8 in). The gap between the mattress and the crib must be no more than 3 cm (1 3/16 in). A crib must have a side height of at least 66 cm (26 in) with the mattress support in its lowest position. Corner posts must be no more than 3 mm (1/8 in) high. The mattress support must be firmly fixed to the end panels, and Health Canada states that cribs with a floating mattress support system using S-shaped or Z-shaped hooks are not safe and must not be sold. Cribs, cradles and bassinets must carry the manufacturer or importer, model name or number, date of manufacture and assembly instructions, and any with visible damage, missing parts or missing information should be destroyed.

Get this one right, because it is widely misstated. Transport Canada states that although it is not required by regulation, most if not all child car seats and booster seats sold in Canada carry an expiry or useful life date, and Health Canada repeats that the expiry date is not regulated or required by Transport Canada. So an expired seat is not automatically illegal because of the date alone. What does bite: all new and used car seats and booster seats sold in Canada must meet Transport Canada's requirements, and that includes seats sold at garage sales, at second-hand stores, through personal sales, through online second-hand retailers, borrowed, or given away for free. Health Canada states it is illegal to sell car seats that do not meet current regulatory requirements, and that you should not sell a seat that has been in a vehicle during a collision. Transport Canada adds that a seat made before 1 January 2012 may be illegal to advertise, sell or give away, because it may not meet the latest standards. A seat must carry the National Safety Mark, come with its manual, and have a known history; Health Canada's advice is not to use a seat if the seller or lender does not know its history.

Transport Canada and Health Canada state that child, infant and booster seats that do not comply with the relevant Canadian regulations must not be imported, advertised or sold in Canada, whether by individuals or for commercial purposes, and that provincial and territorial legislation does not allow their use. Seats bought outside Canada, including online from non-Canadian vendors, will not carry Transport Canada's National Safety Mark. If a seat in the garage came back from a trip south, it is not a donation and not a sale.

Health Canada's list of products banned under the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act and its regulations, which are illegal to sell or give away, includes infant self-feeding devices (structural devices that prop a feeding bottle so a baby can feed unattended), polycarbonate baby bottles containing bisphenol A, inclined infant sleep products, yo-yo balls, relight candles, balloon blowing kits, lawn darts with elongated tips, and jequirity beans or anything made with them. Schedule 2 to the Act also prohibits products made wholly or partly of polyurethane foam containing tris(2-chloroethyl) phosphate and intended for a child under three.

Baby gates with diamond-shaped openings, or V openings at the top larger than 38 mm (1 1/2 in), are illegal to sell in Canada, because a child's head can become caught and the child could strangle. This rules out most old accordion-style gates. Gates must also come with information identifying the manufacturer, model name or number and date of manufacture, plus instructions for use and installation.

Under the Toys Regulations, toys for children under three must not have small parts that pose a choking hazard. Toys must be in good repair, with no sharp edges or points, no loose eyes or noses, no rough wooden edges, securely attached fasteners and no peeling paint. Health Canada states specifically that plush toys with loose eyes or noses are not safe and should not be sold. Toys that are excessively loud — exceeding 100 dB measured at the distance the toy would ordinarily be from a child's ear — cannot be sold. Health Canada also warns that small powerful magnets pose a serious ingestion hazard to children of all ages, because swallowed magnets can attract across several layers of intestine, so check construction sets, science kits, puzzles and games for loose ones.

Strollers and carriages made before 1985 should not be sold. Strollers need a lap belt and crotch strap solidly attached to the seat or frame, working brakes and folding locks, securely attached wheels, and a label giving the manufacturer or importer, model name or number and date of manufacture. Playpens must not be sold with protruding bolts or torn vinyl or mesh, must use fine mosquito-type mesh, must not have more than two wheels or casters or the ability to attach more, and must have working locking mechanisms, set-up instructions and identifying information. Used portable bed rails should not be sold if damaged or missing the safety labels stating recommended ages.

Before selling or giving away a second-hand product, check with the manufacturer and the federal recall database. Health Canada's instruction is that if a product has been recalled and the problem has not been and cannot be corrected, do not sell it: destroy it so that it cannot be used by someone else, and dispose of it according to your municipal requirements. The database is at recalls-rappels.canada.ca and covers recalls and safety advisories.