About Us
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Our Mission
CALA is a not-for-profit association that instills public confidence in laboratory test results by providing internationally recognized accreditation, proficiency testing and training.
Our Values
- Modelling the highest standards of fair and ethical conduct, as well as technical and professional expertise to and for members and clients.
- The critical importance of accreditation, proficiency testing and high quality information in improving environmental quality and public health and safety.
- CALA leadership role in providing Canadian Laboratories with a world-class accreditation service leading clients to a significant global competitive advantage.
- Being a strong agent and advocate for change in protecting public health and safety through laboratory accreditation and proficiency testing, and through public education and the raising of awareness.
- The principles and practices of continual improvement to ensure CALA program integrity and sustainability, supported by internal and external education and training.
- Delivering true value to clients and striving to improve their businesses by expanding their capabilities.
- Fostering a high degree of cooperation and transparency between the Association, its members, its partners, and interested parties.
- Improving the quality and effectiveness of CALA programs from the diverse and unique strengths of domestic and international partners.
- Providing essential linkages between the environmental, pharmaceutical, food, and public and occupational health disciplines.
- CALA's unique contribution to solving international problems and challenges of public health and safety.
Benchmarks of Performance: Accreditation & Proficiency Testing
Since 1994, the CALA Accreditation Program conducts site audits and evaluates each laboratory's performance at regular intervals, and grants accreditation to the laboratory based on a decision of the CALA Accreditation Council.
To safeguard the quality of environmental data, we assess participating laboratories to the ISO/IEC 17025 standard in accordance with the ISO/IEC 17011 standard. The granting of CALA accreditation requires a laboratory to successfully complete an initial site assessment and to maintain accreditation the laboratory must successfully complete a site visit a year following the initial visit and every two years thereafter.
Laboratories are evaluated through inter-lab comparisons minimally twice a year in CALA's Proficiency Testing Program. Accreditation requires the laboratory to participate in CALA proficiency testing where it is offered and where CALA does not offer PT, participate in alternate PT, including programs from approved PT providers. Each laboratory must undertake any corrective actions within a specified period of time and to the satisfaction of a scientific panel, the CALA Advisory Panel.
Site visits are conducted by highly trained volunteer assessors who are selected for their strong analytical backgrounds. Each assessor must undergo comprehensive and formal training on both ISO and Canadian requirements.
International Recognition and Canadian Accrediting Body
CALA is a Full member of the Asia Pacific Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation (APLAC) and a signatory to the APLAC Mutual Recognition Arrangement (MRA) for testing. It is also a Full member of ILAC, i.e. a signatory also to the ILAC MRA for testing. These international agreements provide mutual recognition between almost 60 accrediting bodies in 40 countries in Africa, the Asia Pacific region, the Americas, Europe and the Middle East. The main aim of these agreements is increased worldwide use and acceptance by both industry and government of endorsed reports from accredited laboratories – “a product tested once and accepted everywhere”.
The CALA programs are endorsed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment, and enjoy the support of federal and provincial governments, as well as private sector companies who provide volunteer staff and work with us to enhance the quality of information available for making environmental decisions. To this end, we encourage government agencies, private sector organizations and professional associations across Canada to participate in the review and evaluation of issues relating to the quality of Canadian testing in environmental analytical laboratories.
Committed to Responsibility
We are committed to working with the laboratory community and their clients to achieve and demonstrate the value of implementing the highest quality standards of testing in Canadian environmental laboratories.
In our efforts to enhance services to both members and their clients, we will continue to expand our existing programs to cover a wider array of environmental tests. This effort is complemented by CALA's training courses and specialized studies. We will also seek further efficiencies in our programs in order to reduce costs to participating laboratories and encourage broader participation within the laboratory community. Finally, we will continue our international efforts both in the interest of promoting good science and ensuring that Canadian companies can meet the environmental requirements of international trade agreements.
Membership Information
Membership in the Canadian Association for Laboratory Accreditation Inc. (CALA) is open to individuals, user groups, institutions, consultants, industrial organizations, regulatory agencies, laboratory equipment suppliers, and others interested in the work being carried out in environmental analytical laboratories. To become a member, please fill out a membership application. To learn more about our programs and how you can participate in CALA, please contact:
CALA
310-1565 Carling Avenue Ottawa, ON K1Z 8R1
tel: 613-233-5300
fax: 613-233-5501 email: Erinn Cummins