CRN for Pressure Equipment Reconciliation Agreement (2018)

A Canadian Registration Number (CRN) is a registration number issued by a Canadian province or territory, or their delegated safety authority, indicating that the design and specifications of pressure equipment has been reviewed and registered for use in that province or territory.

The design and specifications for pressure equipment must comply with provincial and territorial regulations. Manufacturers must obtain a CRN for each jurisdiction where it plans to sell its pressure equipment. A CRN has two elements: 1) the review of the pressure equipment’s design, and 2) the registration of equipment for use in a province or territory.

In practice, a manufacturer submits their design for review to a provincial or territorial authority having jurisdiction. If a manufacturer wants to sell its pressure equipment in every province and territory in Canada, they currently need to submit their equipment’s design seven times for review through separate application and review processes. For decades, this duplication has been identified by industry stakeholders as costly and time consuming, impeding investment, innovation and product choice.

Beginning January 1, 2020, the design reviews conducted by provinces and territories will be mutually recognized by those jurisdictions participating in the reconciliation agreement. This means that one design review will be conducted, and should the manufacturer wish to sell their equipment in multiple provinces and territories, that design review will then be accepted for registration in those provinces and territories participating in the reconciliation agreement.

Pressure equipment must still be registered in each province or territory where it will be used to ensure that regulators remain aware of what equipment is approved for use in their jurisdictions. When implemented, the reconciliation agreement will:

• Apply to boilers, pressure vessels and fittings that will be used in more than one jurisdiction.
• Facilitate the trade of pressure equipment between Canada’s provinces and territories.
• Uphold public safety through the compliance of pressure equipment designs to recognized standards, where compliance is ensured by design reviews conducted by qualified individuals.
• Remove barriers and reduce costs associated with multiple provincial / territorial CRN applications and design reviews.
• Reduce the number of CRN design review applications completed and submitted by manufacturers.
• Reduce the number of duplicative CRN design reviews conducted by regulatory authorities.

As of January 1, 2020, the reconciliation agreement is in effect in British Columbia, Manitoba, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Ontario, Prince Edward Island, Québec, Saskatchewan, and Yukon. These jurisdictions are referred to as participating Parties in the reconciliation agreement.

Manufacturers seeking to register their pressure equipment in provinces and territories that are not Parties to the agreement may require a design review in those jurisdictions.

To ensure stakeholders are aware which jurisdictions have signed and have become participating Parties to the reconciliation agreement, this summary will be updated accordingly