The criteria aim, in particular, at promoting products that have a lower environmental impact along their life cycle, are of high quality, have good performance and long durability, products which contain a limited amount of hazardous substances and a limited amount of volatile organic compounds.

"quality assurance" means all those planned and systematic actions necessary to provide adequate assurance that a structure, system, component or procedure will perform satisfactorily in compliance with agreed standards.

In its Speech from the Throne delivered in February 2004, the Government of Canada put forward an ambitious program to improve the level and the quality of life of all Canadians.

In eliminating such barriers it is essential to ensure that the development of service activities contributes to the fulfilment of the task laid down in Article 2 of the Treaty of promoting throughout the Community a harmonious, balanced and sustainable development of economic activities, a high level of employment and of social protection, equality between men and women, sustainable and non-inflationary growth, a high degree of competitiveness and convergence of economic performance, a high level of protection and improvement of the quality of the environment, the raising of the standard of living and quality of life and economic and so ...[+++]cial cohesion and solidarity among Member States.

(32) Since the objectives of this Directive, namely to contribute to general confidence both in the quality of donated blood and blood components and in the health protection of donors, to attain self-sufficiency at a Community level and to enhance confidence in the safety of the transfusion chain among the Member States, cannot be sufficiently achieved by the Member States and can therefore by reason of its scale and effects be better achieved at Community level, the Community may adopt measures, in accordance with the principle of s ...[+++]ubsidiarity as set out in Article 5 of the Treaty.

When you add the multitude of requirements that we have placed on the quality of ships, on Port State Control inspections, on the regulations at the design and construction stage, we believe that Canada has a great competitive environment with a great potential, especially for passengers.