OTTAWA -- The obnoxious, noisy toys your kids love to play with could be harming their hearing, says Winnipeg NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis.
The Winnipeg North MP today introduced a private members' bill which would restrict any toy sold in Canada to being no louder than 75 decibels. That is the same standard as the World Health Organization's defined safety limit.
Winnipeg NDP MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis introduced a private members' bill which would restrict any toy sold in Canada to being no louder than 75 decibels. That is the same standard as the World Health Organization's defined safety limit.
Using a singing toy bunny rabbit, a plastic jackhammer and a toy gun as examples, Wasylycia-Leis demonstrated that many toys on the market in Canada exceed the recommended limit.
All three were over 100 decibels, which Wasylycia-Leis says is even above the recommended noise level for adults.
"The damage in a few minutes could be quite profound," said Wasylycia-Leis.
She noted there is nothing requiring manufacturers to mark products with a noise warning so parents can know whether the toys they are buying are potentially harmful to their child's hearing.
She has the backing of both the Canadian Association of Speech-Language Pathologists and Audiologists, and the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association.
Wasylycia-Leis is hoping the government will adopt her bill, which would give it a much better chance of passing.
She also may introduce the restriction as an amendment to bill C-52, a government consumer product safety bill.
Health Canada last year tested over 200 toys for noise level and found just one which exceeded 100 decibels. It was pulled off the shelves. But Wasylycia-Leis's assistant purchased both the toy gun and jackhammer this week at a downtown Ottawa shopping mall.
mia.rabson@freepress.mb.ca
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