Updated: Tue Nov. 24 2009 10:40:45 AM

CTV.ca News Staff

A top Canadian consumer advocate says the federal government needs to have the authority to pull a potentially dangerous product from the market, just as a B.C. company issues the largest-ever recall of cribs in North America on reports of injuries and deaths.

Mel Fruitman, head of the Consumers' Association of Canada, says that while the United States government has the power to demand that a product be removed from the shelves, legislation that would give the Canadian government the same power is stalled in the Senate.

In the meantime, Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc.'s recall of more than two million drop-side cribs, which have been linked to more than 100 injuries and four deaths, is purely voluntary.

"Until this new bill comes in, the Canadian government does not have recall capability. They've got to say to the manufacturer, 'Would you please take that off the shelves because it's killing people?'" Fruitman told CTV's Canada AM on Tuesday.

"And if the manufacturer says, 'Stuff it', there's nothing they can do about it. That's why it's so important to see this bill get out of Senate, brush aside all of the special interest groups that are holding it up, and make sure it passes, so that Canadians finally have the protection they need."

According to Fruitman, the bill sets out a procedure for investigating injuries or deaths to determine if they are related to a specific product and if a recall is warranted. It would also allow the government to pull products from the shelves if manufacturers didn't comply with recall orders.

While the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced the crib recall late Monday, Health Canada did not issue its own statement. The agency is expected to comment on the issue at some point Tuesday.

The CPSC said the cribs' drop-side plastic hardware can break or deform, or parts can go missing. There are also reports that the drop-side itself is being installed upside-down, which can cause it to detach and leave a space in which a baby can become trapped and suffocate.

The CPSC is urging parents to stop using the cribs immediately and either obtain a repair kit from the company or find an alternative sleeping environment for their baby.

Customers who want a repair kit can call the company's recall hotline at: (877) 274-0277

Fruitman said if consumers are putting together the cribs incorrectly, then asking them to repair the cribs themselves may not fix the problem.

"How much confidence do we have in consumers being able to fix it themselves?" Fruitman said. "And the onus shouldn't be on the consumer to fix it themselves. The manufacturer should be putting something in place to make that fix."

While Stork Craft has so far not commented on the recall, the head of the CPSC said Tuesday that the agency "hasn't been acting as quickly as it should" on crib safety issues.

Consumer advocates have complained for years about the hazards of drop-side cribs, but they are still a common crib design that's sold across North America.

CPSC chairman Inez Tenenbaum said the agency will enforce a law passed by Congress last year that gives the agency greater authority to crack down on manufacturers.

"The commission will write regulations in the next few months and we will look at this issue about drop-sides," Tenenbaum said, according to The Associated Press. "But I don't think drop-sides will be a part of cribs in the future."