Canada Regulates Yard Sales & Hand-Me-Downs

With the economy in the toilet and the outlook even further down into the sewer system, yard sales are popping up more than ever.  Not only can the seller make a few bucks, the buyers can hit the mother lode and acquire needed items at a tiny percentage of the price.  It’s win-win, right?

Not to the federal government of Canada.  If money is changing hands outside the system, the government is certain to want to put a stop to it.  What better way to halt trade that doesn’t benefit them than to regulate it?  

In a news release dated May 15, 2012, Health Canada (the federal department responsible for public health) cautions against buying or selling goods at a garage sales.  In fact, the regulations affect not only the sale of second-hand goods, but the donation of them.

The legal basis of this is a legislation passed last June.  “On June 20, 2011, the Canada Consumer Product Safety Act (CCPSA) came into force. Its purpose is to protect the public by addressing and preventing dangers to human health or safety that are posed by consumer products in Canada. There is no distinction under the CCPSA and its regulations between new and used products. Any person who sells, distributes, or gives away consumer products that do not comply with the Act or its current regulations is breaking the law in Canada.”

This makes it illegal to pass on hand-me-downs, sell items on Craigslist, hold yard sales or garage sales, or donate these items to others in need.  As with all governmental documents, the wording is so vague that it is completely open to interpretation.  The published rhetoric focuses on items designed for infants and children but cautions, “Buyers and sellers are urged to exercise caution regarding all consumer products.”

One notable example of a “hazardous product” is loose fitting cotton sleepwear.  “Cotton or cotton-blends may only be used for tight-fitting styles such as sleepers or polo pajamas.”

Other odd caveats:

·        Plush animals that have detachable eyes or noses

·        Costume jewelry (could contain lead or cadmium)

·        Baby gates without instructions and original packaging

·        Cosmetics unless they comply with the Food and Drugs Act

·        MP3 players that could pose the risk of electric shock

·        Window blinds or curtains

For eagle-eyed yard-sale attendees or hand-me-down beneficiaries, an easy-to-use tattle-tale form is available on the Health Canada website.  With unparalleled convenience, the online form is automatically submitted to instigate an investigation of the questionable item.

This is another example of a government condescending to “care for” its citizens as though they are unable to exercise common sense when buying or selling goods.  The wildly intrusive law is just another method of control over the way people make money and the way people spend it. 

Other recent incidents of ridiculous regulations:

Three little girls in Georgia were busted by the police chief for having a lemonade stand in their front yard.  According to the Chief of Police, health was of great concern.  “"We were not aware of how the lemonade was made, who made the lemonade, of what the lemonade was made with, so we acted accordingly by city ordinance.”

A group of moms in Minnesota were threatened with criminal charges for distributing some farm fresh surplus to needy local families.

A Michigan woman was threatened with jail time for raising an organic garden in her front yard. 

Two Delaware neighbourhoods had all of their basketball nets and poles removed by the Department of Transportation and the state police.

The intrusion into normal everyday activities, the excessive regulations, and the threats of criminal and civil liability are all tyrannical actions by governments that are attempting to implement total control. 

Citizens will be only allowed to own approved items, purchased from approved outlets.  Kids can’t make money with a little hard work.  Charity cannot be given if you are blessed with an abundant harvest.  Citizens should only eat and drink regulated concessions, purchased from taxable outlets that have been pre-monitored by the nanny state.  

Welcome to the totalitarian world of Agenda 21.