An amended Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992

Marie-France Dagenais

As you may be aware, the amended Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, received royal assent on May 14, 2009 and came into force June 16, 2009. The amended Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, remains focused on the prevention of incidents when dangerous goods are imported, handled, offered for transport and transported but also expands the response capability of the Canadian Government in the event of a security incident involving dangerous goods.

The main safety amendments include:

• A new definition of dangerous goods release;
• Reinforcing and strengthening the Emergency Response Assistance Plan Program;
• Reconfirming that inspectors are able to inspect anywhere a means of containment is being manufactured, repaired or tested, unless it is a private dwelling, in which case a warrant is required;
• Modifying the concept of importer to clarify who is the person in Canada responsible for the dangerous goods;
• Changing the name of Permits of Equivalent Level of Safety to Equivalency Certificates and adding the notion of a "Temporary Certificate" to replace the use of Estoppels.

The amended Act now provides for security requirements during the importation, handling, offering for transport and transportation of dangerous goods. The legislative provisions on which the prevention and response security program will be based include:

• Requiring security plans and security training;
• Enabling the use of Security Measures and Interim Orders;
• Enabling regulations to be made to require that dangerous goods are tracked during transport or reported if lost or stolen;
• Reinforcing the existing Emergency Response Assistance Program to equally address responses to security incidents and accidents during the transportation of dangerous goods;
• Enabling the development of a program to require transportation security clearances for dangerous goods. (This section will come into effect at a later date)

These enabling authorities will allow the Transport Dangerous Goods' directorate to develop new policies and regulations using our regular consultation process in order to enhance the safety and security for Canadians during the transportation of dangerous goods.

A copy of An Act to amend the Transportation of dangerous Goods Act, 1992, can be found at this address: http://www2.parl.gc.ca/HousePublications/Publication.aspx?Docid=3944893&file=4

As always, we would be glad to answer any questions. Please feel free to contact either myself, Marie-France Dagenais, Director General, Transport Dangerous Goods Directorate at 613-990-1147, or by email at marie-france.dagenais@tc.gc.ca or Peter Coyles, at 613-990-1156 or by email at peter.coyles@tc.gc.ca.