Transport Canada reversed course on Tuesday and agreed to release the results of six years of tests on child car seats.

"I believe we have two important responsibilities," Transport Minister John Baird told reporters in Ottawa.

"One, to set very high standards for children's safety. And two, to make the findings of all those tests for safety made public. And that's what I've instructed my officials to do."

His comments came after the CBC News ran a story Monday stating that Transport Canada, which is responsible for ensuring road safety, had declined to release the results of hundreds of tests that have been conducted since 2003, saying they were "not for compliance" and "were technical in nature."

Transport Canada told CBC News that the test results "can contain third-party information and ... there may be a potential for unfair material damage to the private sector without cause."

The news prompted strong criticism from a prominent consumer group and an opposition MP.

U.S. ran similar tests

The tests carried out in Canada were similar to U.S. trials that uncovered significant safety issues in some seats, CBC News has learned.

The U.S. tests gauged the effects of front and side crash impacts on the seats, and were conducted at speeds of 56 km/h. An unrestrained child in a car that crashed while travelling at 50 km/h would suffer an impact similar to that of a child dropped from a third-storey window.

The U.S. tests, conducted in 2008, showed that some seats flew off their bases, while others failed injury limits. As a result of the tests, two different Combi child restraint seats were recalled in North America. The U.S. Department of Transportation only released the test details after a Chicago newspaper first publicized the results in March.

Transport Canada, which confirmed it had also found problems with the Combi seats, has so far not provided details of problems with any other car seats.

"We have provided all available information on this issue," a Transport Canada spokesperson told CBC News before Baird made his announcement that he would release more information.

'What are they thinking of?'

Bruce Cran of the Consumers' Association of Canada said Transport Canada has an obligation to publicize the results so parents can make informed choices when purchasing seats.

He was outraged when Transport Canada initially said it would not release details.

"Shame on Transport Canada, what were they thinking of?" he told CBC News at the time. "This is a Canadian ministry looking at things that might protect our children and they won't tell us the results of tests they did with public funds? This is absolutely ludicrous."

Olivia Chow, the NDP children and child-care critic, called on the government early Tuesday to release the results of the tests.

"The government has an obligation to protect its citizens above any corporate interests," said Chow in a statement.

"I'm calling on the government to release this information immediately, good or bad, so parents can have the most up to date information on how to keep their children safe."

In April, the U.S. Department of Transportation started a consumer program that helps parents find a child restraint that best suits their vehicles. Transport Canada said it is monitoring the U.S. changes.

Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of death for Canadian children and teens, according to the Canadian Hospitals Injury Reporting and Prevention Program. According to Transport Canada, 10,000 children under the age of 12 are injured in traffic crashes every year.

With files from Reg Sherren