New Personal Services Legislation to Enhance Public Safety

Legislation to further protect public health and prevent disease has been introduced into the House of Assembly. A bill titled An Act to Regulate the Personal Services Industry will receive second reading in the House of Assembly today. This legislation will regulate the personal services industry including tattooing, body piercing establishments and indoor tanning facilities in Newfoundland and Labrador.

“Our government is ensuring that the personal services industry is regulated in a manner that protects public health and puts in place safeguards for clients and employees alike,” said the Honourable Susan Sullivan, Minister of Health and Community Services. “These regulations will reduce the risk of transmission of blood-borne diseases during procedures performed at personal services establishments and help reduce the incidence of diseases such as skin cancer related to ultraviolet radiation exposure in tanning facilities.”

Through the Personal Services Act the regulations will:

• Prohibit indoor tanning facilities from offering services to persons under the age of 19;
• Prohibit personal services establishments from offering invasive body modification procedures such as scarring, sub-dermal implants, branding, skin peeling and tongue splitting to persons under the age of 19;
• Prohibit personal services establishments from offering body piercing and tattooing services to persons under the age of 16 without the written consent of a young person’s parent or guardian;
• Require personal services establishments and tanning facilities to provide information to clients on the health risks of the services to be provided and to post health warning signs in the premises;
• Require personal services establishments and tanning facilities to comply with provincial health standards that will be developed; and,
• Require personal services establishments and tanning facilities to register their business with Service NL.

“The Personal Services Act will continue the Provincial Government’s commitment to protect public health by implementing for the first time in this province a new regulatory environment for personal services establishments and tanning facilities,” said Minister Sullivan. “We have heard from operators of personal services establishments and tanning facilities who support the development of health and safety standards and we will collaborate with industry representatives to develop these standards. We committed to developing appropriate standards for the industry to protect public health and safety in the 2011 Blue Book. Today, we are delivering on that commitment.”

To ensure that there is compliance with this new legislation, an inspection program will be developed before the Personal Services Act comes into force.

“Service NL will work with the Department of Health and Community Services on the development of policies and procedures related to inspections and enforcement,” said the Honourable Paul Davis, Minister of Service NL. “We will rely upon our experience in the inspection and enforcement of other health protection legislation to help develop polices required to enforce this new legislation.”

The act will allow inspectors with Service NL to enter premises to issue orders to correct deficiencies or for the closure of operations in more serious cases when risks to health are identified during an inspection. Staff and owners of these businesses who fail to comply with the requirements under the Personal Services Act and its regulations will face a fine. Fines for failing to comply with the Personal Services Act will range between $50 and $5,000.

“These regulations are appropriate and necessary as the personal services and tanning industry continues to grow,” said Minister Sullivan. “There are studies that show increased rates of skin cancer among young people being linked to ultraviolet light exposure, and there have been incidents where personal services have been performed on people which have lead to serious health outcomes. It is our government’s responsibility to protect public health, as well as ensure that businesses have regulations to guide their business practices.”

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• Video of News Conference (29 MB)

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2012 06 07             9:10 a.m.