Anyone import a Swedish to Canada?

Hello,

Well DS is comfortably still riding RF at 15 mons and 30.5 lbs in a True Fit. Now I am thinking about saving up his grandma money and anything extra to get a Swedish seat so that I can keep him RF past 5 lbs. I think he will be at 35 lbs by if not before 2 and I am so scarred of turning him FF (especially after our accident)

Has anyone order and used a Swedish seat in Canada? Do we need a Dr.s note to bring it in? Is there a chance that customs will destroy the seat and not let it in the country? Should I just go to Sweden and bring a seat back (I would love to do that if I had the $) Will we get a ticket for having a Swedish seat or are the police not likely to notice?

I really really don't want to FF my baby

butterfly_mommy said:

Hello,

Has anyone order and used a Swedish seat in Canada? Do we need a Dr.s note to bring it in? Is there a chance that customs will destroy the seat and not let it in the country? Should I just go to Sweden and bring a seat back (I would love to do that if I had the $) Will we get a ticket for having a Swedish seat or are the police not likely to notice?

I really really don't want to FF my baby

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Yes, you would need a doctors note, and the chances of you getting one for a 15 month old is about 0. (Sorry). Then you would have to get it okay'd by Transport Canada, which I have actually never heard of someone doing. Maybe if it were a 35lb 6 month old, but 15 months when it's "legal" to FF at 1 and 20lbs, probably not.

Is there a chance customs would destroy the seat? Yes. They do it at the American border if they know it's American, so I can imagine you would have trouble getting it in.

Yes, you could get a ticket if the police noticed, but the chances of that are fairly low. There are roadside checks (I've been stopped at them and they asked to see the CMVSS stickers on my Radian because they didn't recognize it as a CDN seat.) However, a Swedish rf seat is going to draw some attention because of the look of it and the foot prop.

Sorry for all the bad news! You're best bet, if you want to get one, is to pm Adventuredad, and then run the risk of getting caught.

Maybe Allport and Trudy will come along soon and give you some more advice.

Wouldn't it be nice if we all lived in Sweden?

Around here they do a lot of carseat safety checks and I can say without a doubt that the techs at those checks would recognize an obvious non-CMVSS seat instantly and you definitely could be ticketed. We've had a EU seat come in to a seat check before and everyone went over and looked at it because it was so different to see - seatbelt routing, everything about it was different. Anyone semi-familiar with CDN seats would recognize that a Swedish seat wasn't the norm and would look for the national safety mark sticker.

Is there a possibility the seat would be destroyed at the border? Yes.

Is there a way to legally import it? No, so far as I'm aware there isn't. Even in the case of a 35lb under 1yr old there aren't any importation options right now.

It's illegal to import, and illegal to use a non-CMVSS seat. There may be instances where it's worth the risk, but a child your ds's age doesn't fall in to the category where I would risk losing hundreds and hundreds of dollars only to never see what I had put the money out towards...

We don't advocate importing a seat whenever possible - only rf to the limits of your seat. 35lbs is the highest limit available in Canada right now, so that's what we have to work with. I can understand not wanting to ff him anytime soon with the crash you guys were in, but there will come a time regardless where he has to ff. Almost 5lbs should get him another year - weight gain truly does slow down at your ds's age in the vast majority of kids. :thumbsup:

Correct me if I'm wrong but it does seem to be illegal to both import and use foreign seats in Canada regardless if teh are from Us, Sweden or other places. US is quite different, it's perfectly legal to import a seat there but technically illegal to use it. Getting caught in a car seat check is IMO extremely small.

Personally, I would not worry about the usage, getting caught is a very low risk. I hear from snowbird and others thats Canadian customs are quite strict and do open lots of packages. That's not not the case in most other countries. If it's illegal to actually import it's not a goo idea doing it IMHO. If it's legal to import but technically illegal to use then it's a totally different thing.

Car seat fanatics will be able to recognize Swedish seats but there are colors and models which are similar to US/Swedish models. Foot prop can't be seen unless door is open so I would not say that is a big worry.

You Canadian car seat gurus), is it for sure illegal to import foreign seats? Even if you pay customs? Can we find this in writing somewhere?

So far I have not shipped any seats to Canada because of the rules.

Thanks everyone for your input. I guess at some point I will have to turn him FF I just wish we had the same safety standards as Sweden. We have only owned Volvo's and after our crash my DH refused to even entertain the thought of buying a car that was not a Volvo

Do you think that Canada will ever adopt a higher then 35 lb RF limit?

Adveturedad your site is so nice, I was drooling over the seats

Also I was thinking that it would be funny to sing the line from the Tom Green song to DS if he was in a Swedish seat "My bum is on a Swedish...Swedish"

Someone sent me a link about Volvo car seats in Sweden anyone know about these seats(just for curiosity)

Oh well I guess we will have to move to Sweden when DS hits 35 lbs It seems like a great country to live in and all the good stuff come from Sweden Higher weight carseats, Volvos and Ikea

butterfly_mommy said:

Oh well I guess we will have to move to Sweden when DS hits 35 lbs It seems like a great country to live in and all the good stuff come from Sweden Higher weight carseats, Volvos and Ikea

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I keep telling DH I want to move to Sweden So far, though, because they have higher weight RFing car seat doesn't seem to be enough incentive for him

Is there a way to legally import it?: I think there is, but the reasons you´ll need to import one and use it legally may very well overshadow the thrill of having a Swedish seat. You are going to need a severely disabled child or a severely injured child.

Lena

butterfly_mommy said:

Do you think that Canada will ever adopt a higher then 35 lb RF limit?

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Canada actually doesn't have a 35lb rf'ing limit - we just don't have any manufacturers who have chosen to test and certify seats beyond 35lbs rf'ing. As the regulations are right now, a company could choose to certify a seat to 65lbs rf'ing if they wanted to. So there is nothing stopping a company from Sweden from testing their seat to CMVSS 213 and then applying for a national safety mark and selling it here.

AD - I don't know exactly where the legislation is that it's illegal to import, but do have a copy of one notice from TC. Cross Border Shopping is Not the Best Deal for your Child's Safety - this would obviously apply to seats from anywhere outside Canada and not just the US.

eta: When dd was moving from her infant seat to her convertible seat I looked in to trying to legally import a US Marathon - it was cheaper and I figured if there was a way to jump through the hoops to get it approved for use in Canada, I would. I did at one point talk to someone in TC and was told there was no way to legally import a seat from another country. I wasn't a tech at the time and didn't question it any further, just used a CDN seat. Based on a recent discussion I had, there isn't anything set up within Canada to legally import a non-complying seat even in the case of heavy babies. The discussion came up as a result of a 35lb 8month old, and unfortunately there weren't any legal ways to keep the child rf'ing if he does indeed weigh 35lbs. With any luck the My Ride will arrive in Canada not much further behind than the arrival in the US - not that I'm holding my breath.

Oh, I should also add, that at carseat safety checks, they do open back doors, and the person checking if the seats are properly installed and used is a certified tech. More and more police are also being trained so that there is increased enforcement when routine traffic stops are done. With the absence of a chest clip, that would be the very first thing I would guess a police officer would notice, even if he/she didn't notice the foot prop or tethers.

Trudy, your link was broken (If only they'd quit moving everything around.) Here is the link: http://www.tc.gc.ca/roadsafety/safedrivers/childsafety/notices/2007c09/menu.htm

Note this sentence: "Transport Canada is concerned that parents and caregivers may not know that it is illegal to import and use in Canada a seat that does not comply with Canadian standards." (bolding mine). I assume they are referring to the Hazardous Products Act, however, as far as I can tell, the only car seats banned under the Act are infant car seats that are not certified to CMVSS 213.1. (Source: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/cps-spc/pubs...e-consultation_rapid/table-tableaux-1-eng.php) I cannot find any mention of foreign convertibles, combination seats, or boosters being banned.

ETA: Here is the applicable section of the Act, which then refers to Section 4 of CMVSS: (Banned Products) Devices for use in motor vehicles for the purpose of restraining infants, which devices do not meet the requirements of Schedule 4 to the Motor Vehicle Restraint Systems and Booster Cushions Safety Regulations. From here: http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/H-3/sc:1//en#anchorsc:1

Schedule 4 of the Motor Vehicle Restraint Systems and Booster Cushions Safety Regulations is in relation to INFANT car seats. http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/showdoc/cr/SOR-98-159/sc:4//en#anchorsc:4 An infant is defined by this regulation as: "a person who is incapable of sitting erect and whose weight is less than 9 kg." An Infant Restraint System is defined by the Regulation as: "a restraint system that is designed for use, together with a vehicle seat belt, in the restraint of an infant."

Therefore, my interpretation of the legislation is that the importation of car seats designed for "infants" which do not meet CMVSS 213.1 is illegal under the Hazardous Products Act.

However, I cannot find anything that states it is illegal to import a child restraint designed for a "Child", defined by the regulation as: "a person whose weight is not less than 9 kg (20 lbs) and not more than 30 kg (65 lbs)." I think that the intention of the legislation was to make it illegal to import any child restraint that does not comply to CMVSS, but I think they left a little room for argument in the wording. Being in the line of work I'm in, I'd be inclined to dispute the ticket if I were to get one for using a foreign convertible (lol, except I don't even own one!). But I am a stubborn, technical kind of person. That being said, I certaintly wouldn't be disputing ANYTHING at the actual border crossing, because those Canada Border Services Agents are mega scary!

Hopefully that made SOME sense to someone other than me, lol. Maybe Allport can provide some clarification for us.

All provinces and territories state in their Highway Traffic Acts that it is illegal to use a CRS that does not comply to the applicable Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. The provinces and territories enforce the use of CRS's in Canada. It is illegal to commercially import a CRS from another country and Border Services have been known to seize both under the MVSA and the HPA.

Allport said:

All provinces and territories state in their Highway Traffic Acts that it is illegal to use a CRS that does not comply to the applicable Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard. The provinces and territories enforce the use of CRS's in Canada. It is illegal to commercially import a CRS from another country and Border Services have been known to seize both under the MVSA and the HPA.

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But can Transport Canada approve the importation of a foreign seat under any special circumstances? And if so, what are those circumstances? http://www.car-seat.org/showthread.php?t=77002

TC really doesn't have the authority to do that since the use is regulated provincially. If the Province gave the OK, then we'd have to revisit the Federal laws (HPA) to see if it's possible. This would only be done probably in the case of a special needs seat. I honestly don't think it's ever been done in my lifetime! Again, if it were independently imported (not commercial) TC could not really stop it from coming in, but the Provinces could and so could the HPA (regulated by Health Canada).

Allport said:

TC really doesn't have the authority to do that since the use is regulated provincially. If the Province gave the OK, then we'd have to revisit the Federal laws (HPA) to see if it's possible. This would only be done probably in the case of a special needs seat. I honestly don't think it's ever been done in my lifetime! Again, if it were independently imported (not commercial) TC could not really stop it from coming in, but the Provinces could and so could the HPA (regulated by Health Canada).

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And obviously customs stops it as well? Because I've heard of parents have their U.S. seats seized at the border. So, does the CBSA have authority to act for each province? or who is telling them to seize car seats or not allow them to pass through customs?

And thanks for the info. You're a great resource for these questions (and many others)! :thumbsup:

Sometimes I think CBSA can seize whatever it wants.

Do they seize walkers if people try and bring them across the border? Anyone happen to know?

I think if they're putting the seats under the HPA then that gives them authority to seize it at the border.

snowbird25ca said:

Sometimes I think CBSA can seize whatever it wants.

Do they seize walkers if people try and bring them across the border? Anyone happen to know?

I think if they're putting the seats under the HPA then that gives them authority to seize it at the border.

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Good question about the baby walkers. Hmmmm....

snowbird25ca said:

Sometimes I think CBSA can seize whatever it wants.

Do they seize walkers if people try and bring them across the border? Anyone happen to know?

I think if they're putting the seats under the HPA then that gives them authority to seize it at the border.

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I'm inclined to think CBSA is doing whatever they want too. I spoke with a mom today who was going to send a walker back to canada and she was told at the post office in the USA that it would not make it and was advised to put it together, take the wheels off and pretend it was an exercaucer type thing.

From my understanding of this thread... that under the HPA, they are really only concerned if you are importing commercially... I'm thinking that would mean that you are bringing it in for the sole purpose of selling it. Not sure if I have the right understanding.

snowbird25ca said:

Do they seize walkers if people try and bring them across the border? Anyone happen to know?

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Yes, they do seize walkers. A friend of mine bought one in Portugal and brought it back with her on the plane. It didn't make it out of the airport.

I'm very interested in this... has anyone come up with more information?

Yes they seize walkers - it is almost a full time job apparently! Under the HPA Health Canada has very broad powers and they can tell CBS what cannot come into Canada - just like TC can when it comes to vehicles, etc.