The federal government should lead a full investigation into the health and safety process that allowed the sale of dangerous toys in Canada, a former safety official said Wednesday in the wake of a major recall.

Emile Therien, the former president of the Canada Safety Council, said he was "appalled" that the federal government's product safety agency had not discovered the problems in toys recalled by Mattel Inc.

This Polly Pocket Pollywood Limo-Scene was among the toys recalled by Mattel on Tuesday.
(Paul Sakuma/Associated Press)

The toy maker issued a recall on Tuesday for almost one million toys in Canada over concerns about lead paint and small magnets, which can cause potentially fatal intestinal perforations, infections or blockages in children who swallow more than one. The toys, manufactured over a five-year period, included Polly Pocket dolls, Batman action figures and die-cast cars from the Disney-Pixar movie Cars.

The federal government has been responsible for ensuring that all products manufactured, sold and imported in Canada comply with safety standards since 1970, Therien said, adding that the sale of the recalled toys showed the system is not working.

"A major investigation should be called by the federal government into what went wrong here," Therien told CBC News. "I'm also concerned about the role of the federal government here — Health Canada through the hazardous product safety act. Where were they? Were they asleep at the switch?"

He said the Canadian government has done a lot in recent years to get manufacturers to reduce lead content in their products, but there is still more to be done.

"I'm very troubled because … these products have been in the market for five years," Therien said. "The fact that lead is in this product is a scary, scary issue."

Federal Health Minister Tony Clement said Wednesday afternoon he wanted a quick but comprehensive review of the current procedures.

"I've directed Health Canada to assess our current policies," he said in a phone interview from Buenos Aires.

Therien said recall serves as a reminder for parents that the system is not flawless and they must be wary of the toys their children are playing with. "Parents are really going to have to scour that home pretty carefully to find out what's really there."

Edmonton parent Jamie Gonek said the latest recall has made her worry about where her children's toys are manufactured and whether they are safe.

"I definitely thought of every time my children have put a toy in their mouth and chewed on it and thought about what flaked into their system and it's kind of scary," she said.

Gonek said she will go through all of her children's toys to check if any of them are on the latest recall list. 

Her son also owned some of the Thomas & Friends trains that were recalled two months ago because of lead paint, so Gonek said that she that she will be checking where the toys she buys are manufactured from now on.

"I imagine the one thing you can do now is check to see where the toy is made, and maybe that will help," she said.

Angela Morgan, also from Edmonton, said she's now worried about giving her two-and-a-half-year-old son toys made in China after this recall. She said it was "extremely disappointing" to discover that the unsafe toys had been distributed in Canada.

"You think that because they're sold in Canada, that you trust the fact that they are safe for your children," she said. "We definitely check the labels now to see if it was made in China, which is 90 per cent, it seems, of anything that we consume as buyers."

Mattel is asking parents to visit its website if they think one of the affected toys is in their home. (See Mattel recall information under external links on right). Consumers should immediately take the product away from their children and contact the toy company to receive a voucher for a replacement item.