So, Michael Jackson made a widget. It was a lovely widget, this widget. It was cheaper than anything on the market and was demonstrably safer than anything on the market. Indeed, Michael’s widget had run the engineering gauntlet and, as a safety device, had been demonstrated in a long series of mandated, independent testing to be objectively safer than the competition.
In fact, the competition’s widget had never been run through any engineering gauntlet. The competition’s widget was an old design and its introduction predated most of the currently mandated testing. This old design is the status-quo widget, and the manufacturers of said widget were on the CSA committee that decided new product certification.
Well, Michael paid a fortune to have his widget tested to CSA’s satisfaction but, however satisfactory it was proven to be, the CSA committee wouldn’t certify the widget for use in the market. It took years of effort and expense, the expenditure of nearly a life’s savings and a relocation to the US, but no matter how many times his widget passed its tests, the CSA committee of his competitors wouldn’t certify his widget.
While we were pondering Michael’s story we heard from another caller, this time from Canada and he had a very similar story. Larry Mullen’s story is uniquely interesting, because Larry’s on the CSA’s Canadian Electrical Code Committee. Larry’s an insider.
“In one case, a company headed by Joan Jett had an entirely new line of heavy duty products ready for market”
Wait what?!?!
Bad reputation Joan Jett?.
Sly and Robbie came to the rescue years ago and created ETL. Today, the ETL Mark is the fastest growing safety certification in North America and is featured on millions of products sold by major retailers and distributors every day. At a recent trade show I visited, the CSA mark was nowhere to be found. CSA is no longer the industry standard in North America and will soon go the way of the dodo bird.
The purpose of CSA technical committees has evolved over time.
Around 1980 I was involved with one of these. The main objective of the committee composed of Canadian manufacturers at the time was to create as many non-tariff barriers as possible to keep American products out of the Canadian market.
Benefits to the public had nothing to do with it.
The American UL is also acceptable in Canada. Most corporations just get the UL mark and forget about these amateurs. I have a friend who’s the CEO of the Canadian arm of a huge consumer product manufacturer. When we discuss CSA, he yawns.
If you look into the deep background of the Better Business Bureau, the Advertising Standards Council, or any of the health related regulatory agencies (and I spent 10 years doing just that) you find that Restore CSAs experience is the norm, not the exception. (cue tinfoil hat put downs)
Actually all the names in this article are pop musicians of one form or another.
Started to dawn on me a couple hours ago….
Thanks.
There’s no way that’ll make me google “Larry Mullen” though….
Regulatory Capture.
Why spend money making a better mouse trap, when you can bribe a government agency to ban your competitor’s mouse traps instead?
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And if you are really devious, you can buy his design from his bankrupted company a few years later.
“Harold?”
“Yes, Uncle Max?”
“What are your plans for the future?”
I’m going to become a lawyer so I can help you any way I can.”
“Political rent seeking is where the best fought over money is Harold.”
“Then there I must go.”
“Good boy.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPLNhqca0Qc
So CSA is just another good little government bureau.
If taxpayers opened their eyes, they would notice every one of these” helping” agencies are doing them far more harm than having no help greater than; buyer beware.
Apparently a good education is expensive, the corruption and theft by these kleptcrats and their fellow parasites will eventual educate all.
But there are some real slow learners in Canada.