Bill S-3: An Act to amend the Weights and Measures Act, the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act, the Weights and Measures Regulations and the Electricity and Gas Inspection Regulations

This bill primarily affects businesses across Canada that use measuring devices in trade — think gas stations, grocery stores, grain elevators, lumber yards, fuel distributors, and any retailer or wholesaler that sells goods by weight or volume. It also directly impacts electricity and gas utilities, meter manufacturers, and meter verification service providers (formerly called 'accredited meter verifiers,' now 'authorized service providers'). Day-to-day, these businesses will face enhanced inspection powers — inspectors can now enter premises more broadly, order corrective measures, and use sampling methods to verify device accuracy across entire classes of equipment, meaning one failed test could affect many devices of the same type. Business size matters: smaller traders with just a few scales or pumps face the same compliance framework as larger operations, but larger utilities and contractors registered under the Electricity and Gas Inspection Act will need to adapt to new record-keeping requirements, potential suspension or revocation of certificates and authorizations, and mandatory development of compliance plans or procedures when ordered by the Minister or an inspector.