New rules bring blinds shortage
Change in federal safety regulations leaves some retailers with empty shelves
Empty shelves in the window blind aisles of big box retailers are a result of a government crackdown on outlaw window blinds.
On May 1, 2021, Health Canada officially drew the curtain on window blinds with long cords in response to injuries and the rare but tragic fatalities of children due to entanglement. New regulations set cord lengths at 22 centimetres and the perimeter of loops created by reachable cords to 44 centimetres.
The government granted the industry a year extension due to pandemic-related issues but is now inspecting businesses to ensure compliance with the new rules.
“We are indeed experiencing shortages in our blinds category but have been working very closely with our suppliers on a variety of blinds that will be compliant with Health Canada’s new regulations,” says Lowe’s Canada spokesperson Valerie Gonzalo. “Although our selection of products is currently limited, we currently estimate that our full new compliant assortment will be replenished by the end of the summer. The health and safety of our customers is always our top priority.”
Blind Magic in Edmonton is the largest Hunter Douglas dealer in Northern Alberta. Hunter Douglas is the largest manufacturer of window blinds in Canada. Blind Magic owner Bob Runcer says there was a lot of confusion between the government and manufacturers about the new specifications, which resulted in manufacturing delays.
“Health Canada only approved Hunter Douglas product two or three months prior to May 1. The timeline for engineering, testing and sending to dealers was so compressed,” says Runcer, who had to remove 25 per cent of display blinds from his store.
Alberta’s residential builders staging show homes and turning house keys over to new owners this spring have been proactive. Carole Saguez, design studio manager with Morrison Homes, says they make sure there’s lots of lead time during construction for measuring and ordering product.
Homes by Avi’s design team is also on top of customer orders.
“Although there have definitely been some changes in blinds and a shortage, we haven’t been affected too much. We tend to pick things that are usually in stock. There’s been a few we’ve had to reselect with customers but otherwise, we work with a great blind company that has made us aware of the situation,” says designer Julie Punter, referring to supplier Camelot Interiors.
Owner Janice Baskin says Camelot’s blinds and shades are custom made for each home.
“We’ve been able to navigate the changes to the Corded Window Coverings Regulations without much disruption,” she says, adding that their lead times are an average of three to five weeks.
Runcer says new Health Canada rules go beyond cords and chains to include potential choking hazards on blinds with small parts and mandates on how blinds are fixed to the window and the tension or force with which they retract.
He warns that homeowners are now unable to replace damaged parts or buy blinds to match existing non-compliant blinds in their home, although they can be repaired to the original specifications by the supplier or manufacturer under a grandfather clause in the new regulations.