Seriously? Yard sale laws? Haven’t our lawmakers got anything better to pick on?

I suppose I can see the concern about safety but c’mon, yard sales have been around forever. You don’t venture out to them expecting the latest technology or top of the line, it’s about finding deals and getting rid of clutter – but maybe not for much longer.

A new Health Canada statement warns die hard sale goers and hosts: “Everyone holding a garage sale is legally responsible for ensuring that products being sold, whether new or used, are safe and meet current regulatory requirements.” It goes on to say: “Any person who sells, distributes or gives away consumer products that do not comply with the current regulatory requirements is breaking the law.”

Yeesh. What will happen to all the thrift stores and the like?

Apparently the same will apply to items listed on bulletin boards, bargain hunters and anything else along those lines.

Health Canada says Product safety officers are particularly concerned with anything involving children, such as high chairs, car seats, toys, clothes, cribs, baby gates and strollers. That I can maybe understand BUT... the list goes on...

“It’s your job to make sure your items haven’t been recalled. If you want to sell your car seat, you should check with Transportation Canada to make sure it meets current regulatory requirements. The car seat must come with warnings, guidelines for use, installation instructions and date of manufacture.”

And that’s not all. The old hockey helmet you want to get out of the closet will now have to have a safety sticker. Used electrical appliances will require instruction manuals. MP3 players will need to have “a “functioning volume control enabling sound levels to be listened to safely without risk of hearing damage.” And that’s still not all.

Oh and don’t think it won’t affect you... Health Canada says safety officers will be out and about conducting random inspection checks. They’ve even gone so far as to put out an online instructional video as to what’s acceptable and what’s not.

Safety is a good thing but when the trade off is regulating people to death over something so little as selling a used hockey helmet, there’s a problem with the picture. I hear it’s supposed to be sunny this weekend, if you’ve got clutter you may want to get on it before the sale police come to town.