The BNQ is a standards and certification body accredited by the Standards Council of Canada (SCC). These SCC accreditations are recognized internationally and guarantee that the BNQ’s procedures and methods comply with rules set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Following are our main interventions at the international level:
International Organization for Standardization (ISO) Committees
Through its accreditation as a Standards Development Organization (SDO) with the SCC, the BNQ can, on behalf of the SCC, act as the secretariat to ISO committees or coordinate the activities of SCC mirror committees.
SCC mirror committees are technical committees established to facilitate Canada’s participation in ISO’s international standardization activities. The SCC considers the criteria presented in document Requirements and Guidance – Participation in International Standardization prior to ruling on Canada’s level of participation in ISO committee work.
To be charged with the responsibility of coordinating the work of an SCC mirror committee, the SDO must sign a harmonization agreement with the SCC in conformity with the requirements of document Requirements and Guidance – Participation in International Standardization. The harmonization agreement describes the respective roles of the SCC and the SDO to ensure that SCC mirror committees are managed in conformity with the requirements of document Requirements and Guidance – Participation in International Standardization.
BNQ activities on ISO committees
Secretariat of the ISO/TC 197 Hydrogen technologies international technical committee The BNQ acts as the secretariat of the ISO/TC 197 Hydrogen technologies committee, the ISO technical committee responsible for work related to hydrogen technologies. The activities of the committee are focused on standardization in the field of systems and devices for the production, transport, storage , measurement and use of hydrogen. Mr. Tetsufumi Ikeda of the Association of Hydrogen Supply and Utilization Technology (HySUT) was appointed chair of the ISO/TC 197 committee until 2024. Ministère de l'Économie, de l'Innovation et de l'Énergie and Department of Relations internationales et de la Francophonie are important partners who support these activities.
Management of the Canadian mirror committee of the ISO/TC 197 Hydrogen technologies committee The chair of this committee is Mr. Graham Meadow, Project Manager, Validation & Certification, Cambridge, Canada, Westport Fuel Systems Inc. Management of the ISO/TC 331 Biodiversity Canadian mirror committee The BNQ has been mandated by the SCC to manage the Canadian mirror committee of ISO TC/331 on biodiversity. The creation of this committee by the BNQ enables the voices of Canada and Quebec to be represented at the heart of this international project and an active participation in the collective effort to restore and preserve biodiversity. Canada is one of 37 countries on the International Standards Committee ISO/TC 331 on biodiversity created in 2020 by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). The various stakeholders composing the Canadian mirror committee work on defining the Canadian position, by consensus, and defend it during international negotiations within the work of the ISO committee. The chair of this committee is Mr. Diego Creimer, Finance and Biodiversity Director, Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society (CPAWS Quebec) until 2026. Management of the ISO/TC 261 Additive manufacturing Canadian mirror committee The BNQ has been entrusted by the SCC with the coordination of the mirror committee CPC/ISO/TC 261, whose role is to establish the Canadian position with regard to the issues and proposals from the international technical committee ISO/TC 261 on additive manufacturing. The activities of the ISO/TC 261 committee address standardization in the field of additive manufacturing concerning processes, terms and definitions, process chains (hard- and software), test procedures, quality parameters, supply agreements, and all kinds of fundamentals. The committee has been chaired by Javier Arreguin, Senior Materials Project Manager at AP&C, since September 2023. In addition, the BNQ serves as an expert or observer on several Canadian mirror committees on subjects related to its standards and conformity assessment programs. For any further information concerning international committees, please communicate with the BNQ’s International Standards ISO Project Manager, Mr. Siasia Morel, at the following address:
In addition to acting as the secretariat of the international ISO/TC 197 technical committee, the BNQ also administers the CPC/ISO/TC 197 Hydrogen technologies mirror committee. This committee is responsible for determining Canadian priorities and making recommendations as to the direction for international standardization work in the field of hydrogen technologies.
Association RNF (Réseau Normalisation et Francophonie)
This association was initially created by the Bureau de normalisation du Québec (BNQ), the Association française de normalisation (AFNOR), the Standards Council of Canada (SCC) and the Institut de la Francophonie pour le développement durable (IFDD) as a subsidiary arm of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie (OIF). The Association RNF groups together more than 80 members present in 27 countries in Europe, Africa and North America. Its main mission is to use different means to strengthen the capacity of National Standards Bodies (NSBs) and other players concerned with infrastructure quality that rely on standards as development tools. Consult the Association RNF website.
