FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 1998-09-30

Standards Council, BNQ to join forces for lab assessments

Laboratories in Quebec will find it easier and cheaper to demonstrate their competence to their clients, thanks to a new agreement between the Standards Council of Canada and the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ).

Under the agreement, qualified BNQ personnel will be eligible tocarry out assessments of Quebec-based laboratories that apply for accreditation under the Standards Council's Program for Accreditation of Laboratories - Canada (PALCAN). Accreditation is the formal recognition of a laboratory's competence to carry out certain procedures. The Standards Council's accreditation programs are based on internationally-accepted criteria, contributing to the recognition of accredited laboratories across Canada and around the world.

BNQ already operates a laboratory-approval program on behalf of the government of Quebec. The new agreement will make it possible for laboratories to apply for both BNQ recognition and Standards Council accreditation without having to undergo separate assessments or conform to different sets of criteria.

The Standards Council is a federal Crown corporation with the mandate to promote efficient and effective standardization. Its PALCAN program has accredited over 200 laboratories in a variety of specialty areas.

BNQ is accredited by the Standards Council as a standards development organization, a certification organization, and a registration organization. Created in 1961 by the government of Quebec, it is now attached to the Centre de recherche industrielle du Québec (CRIQ).

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