FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2003-04-23

Moroccan Registration Body First to be Granted SCC Accreditation Outside of North America

OTTAWA - The Standards Council of Canada (SCC) today announced that it has granted accreditation to the Service de Normalisation Industrielle Marocaine (SNIMA), as a Quality Systems registration body. This marks the first time that the SCC has granted accreditation to a registration body outside of North America, following an amendment to the SCC Act in August 2002, which expands its area of operations to include World Trade Organization (WTO) member countries.

Accreditation has been granted in accordance with the provisions of:

• CAN-P-10B: Criteria for the Accreditation of Organizations Registering Quality Systems,
• CAN-P-1517A: Conditions and Procedures for the Accreditation of Organizations Registering Quality Systems, and
• IAF Guidance on the application of ISO/IEC Guide 62 (Issue 2).

"With the increasing globalization of trade, standards have become critical to ensuring access to export markets," commented Peter Clark, Executive Director for the Standards Council of Canada. "Conformity assessment strengthens the ability of developing countries, such as Morocco, to effectively participate within the global marketplace".

The SCC is the Canadian member body of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and has internationally recognized credentials. The SCC's accreditation program for Quality Systems verifies and formally recognizes a registration body's competence to conduct ISO 9000 registrations and provides assurance that it is capable of delivering services of a consistent quality.

As the SCC is a signatory to the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) Multi-lateral arrangement, ISO 9000 registration certificates issued by our accredited registration bodies are recognized internationally.

SNIMA is the ISO member body for Morocco, and operates under the Direction de la Normalisation et de la Promotion de la Qualité, Département du Commerce et de l'Industrie Ministère de l'Industrie, du Commerce et des Télécommunications du Maroc.

The Standards Council of Canada is a Crown corporation with the mandate to promote efficient and effective voluntary standardization, and is Canada's representative at ISO and the IAF. For more information on the Standards Council's accreditation programs visit www.scc.ca, or contact the Standards Council's Conformity Assessment Branch via e mail at [email protected].

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