Transportation of Dangerous Goods

Regulation making

In accordance with the approach taken across the Government of Canada following the increasing pressures of the COVID-19 pandemic, Transport Canada temporarily deferred seeking Governor in Council approval of its regulatory proposals in the spring of 2020 unless they fell into any of these categories:

• proposals that could mitigate the risks associated with COVID-19
• proposals that could provide relief from COVID-19 impacts, and
• time-sensitive proposals related to safety, security, or the environment

Looking forward, Transport Canada is re-examining its Forward Regulatory Plan to consider how best to prioritize the advancement of regulatory initiatives. In all cases, due regard will be given to the potential impacts that proposed regulations could place on Canadians and the Canadian economy.

Enhancing oversight of transporting dangerous goods

Transport Canada maintained a strong oversight program, with over 90 inspectors conducting 4,600 inspections during the year and employing 3,145^{Footnote 1} enforcement actions and risk reduction measures. Specialized training for inspectors continues to be updated, developed, and delivered to meet the needs of the program. Transport Canada strives to continuously improve its risk-based oversight regime by identifying, researching, and addressing emerging risks.

As a result of the restrictions in place following the declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic, Transport Canada has taken the following actions to improve dangerous goods oversight:

• issued guidance on alternative oversight activities: Remote oversight to inspectorate on conducting remote oversight activities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
• issued 13 temporary certificates, pursuant to subsection 31(2.1) of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, to facilitate the transportation of dangerous goods and support the pandemic relief efforts
• issued 1 equivalency certificate pursuant to subsection 31(2.1) of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992, to facilitate the transportation of dangerous goods and support the pandemic relief efforts

Launching new research projects

Research is underway through 23 new projects involving the transportation of dangerous goods, to be initiated from 2020 to 2023. A total of $3.6 million has been allocated to the 23 research projects. Funding for the projects was provided through court settlements paid largely by Irving Oil in connection with the Lac-Mégantic disaster.

The projects were carefully selected from numerous ideas resulting from a research symposium held in 2019, which brought together more than 200 transportation of dangerous goods partners, including emergency responders, industry representatives, academia, and experts on the transportation of dangerous goods.

The selected projects cover topics such as: tools for emergency response, dangerous goods containers, lithium batteries and other energy storage systems, risk assessment and analysis, as well as other emerging issues.

Six projects have been initiated in 2020, namely: 

• validation of recommended emergency actions for liquefied natural gas in the Emergency Response Guidebook;
• comprehensive review of the criteria and thresholds for emergency response assistance plans in the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulation
• evaluation of any increased risks resulting from greater amounts of hydrogen being transported to hydrogen-vehicle fueling stations
• hazard assessment of energy storage systems being transported in enclosed vessels for marine transport
• development of a geographic-information-system based risk assessment methodology for moving dangerous goods by road, and
• development of a smart package for lithium battery transportation that indicates a warning about an issue inside the package

Response to Standing Committee on Public Accounts

In November 2020, the Commissioner for the Environment and Sustainable Development released its follow-up audit of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Program and the Canada Energy Regulator. The objective of this audit was to assess the extent to which each organization had implemented the recommendations from previous audits, which in the case of program took place in 2011^{Footnote 2} - with respect to their compliance and enforcement responsibilities, and to determine whether each organization had followed up with companies that had been in non-compliance with regulations to ensure a return to compliance.

Overall, the commissioner concluded that the program has made improvements, but further work remained to be done. For example, it founds that program had not followed up on some violations, or had not granted formal approval to a number of Emergency Response Assistance Plans that had been approved on an “interim” basis for some time. It was also found that although a national risk-based system for prioritizing inspections had been implemented, the underlying data was incomplete.

That being said, the commissioner recommended that the program:

• improve and update its tools and database to have more complete and accurate information on regulated companies and their compliance status and to better inform risk-based planning
• systematically track and document its verification that companies have returned to compliance after violations are found
• ensure that means of containment facilities with expired certificates are not conducting the activities for which the certificates were issued
• strengthen its processes for collecting data from its partners to better identify the national rate of regulatory compliance in the transportation of dangerous goods, and
• finalize its approval of the interim ERAPs by completing the necessary investigations and by developing national guidance and criteria for assessing firefighting capacity for plans related to flammable liquids. The program should ensure that approvals for all future plans are finalized within its prescribed timelines

On December 10, 2020, the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts issued a report that reaffirmed the commissioner’s finding, and also sets out deadlines for program to submit progress reports. The first such reports are due to the PACP in June 2021. In response, the program led the drafting of a Memorandum to Cabinet for PACP, in which it committed to address the findings within the created schedule. The program developed a management action plan to guide ongoing and future activities in response to the 2 reports.

Updating the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations

Transportation of dangerous goods regulatory initiatives

Transport Canada continued to make progress in reviewing and amending several parts of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, consistent with the Government of Canada’s Forward Regulatory Plan: 2019-2021. The amendments will enhance current regulations to increase compliance and contribute to improving the safety of Canadians.

These initiatives are:

• The Regulations Amending the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (formatting changes) were published in the Canada Gazette, Part II
  • Proposed changes included updating the format of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations so they are now consistent with the Department of Justice’s formatting standards.
• The Regulations Amending the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (International Harmonization Update and Air, Part 12). Proposed changes included:
  • aligning with the most recent changes in the UN Recommendations (21st Revised Edition), ICAO TI (2019-2020) and IMDG Code (2018)
  • reducing regulatory barriers on cross-border trade with the US, and
  • reducing the compliance burden on industry
• The Regulations amending the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (fee modernization). Proposed changes include introducing new fees and service standards for the Means of Containment Facilities Registration Program
• Part 6 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations is being amended to introduce new training requirements to increase compliance and enhance public safety. Proposed changes include making sure that the regulations incorporate the recently published Standard for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Training, Assessment and Competency, which sets out the requirements for training, assessment and competency of persons performing dangerous goods-related occupational functions
• A Dangerous Goods Client Identification Database is being developed, which will require amendments to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act and regulations. Proposed changes include: Creating new requirements for those who handle, offer for transport, transport and import dangerous goods in Canada to register with Transport Canada. Knowledge of site locations and up-to-date stakeholder data will improve Transport Canada’s ability to identify areas of risk and enable rigorous risk-based assessment of dangerous goods sites

Regulatory sandbox on electronic shipping documents

As the transportation sector evolves, Transport Canada is looking at how it can address regulatory barriers that could be hindering innovation and investment. As part of the Transportation Sector Regulatory Review Roadmap, Transport Canada launched a regulatory sandbox on electronic shipping documents. This exciting pilot project looks at the feasibility and effectiveness of allowing electronic shipping documents in the regulations.

More precisely, the purpose of this project is to do a thorough analysis of the impacts, costs and benefits related to using electronic shipping documents instead of paper ones. This project will allow businesses to replace paper shipping documents with electronic documents, as long as they meet specific safety and information sharing criteria.

Transportation of Dangerous Goods Transformation Roadmap

Transport Canada recognizes the need to grow and adapt to rapidly evolving challenges and obstacles in an ever-changing transportation environment. To maintain its reputation as a modern and agile regulator, Transport Canada has developed a transformation vision for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Program, comprised of a suite of initiatives.

These initiatives will help enable innovation of the program alongside industry and improve upon the program’s ability to effectively and efficiently oversee the safe and secure transportation of dangerous goods. These initiatives include:

• a policy framework for a Client Identification Database, which was recently completed and will allow us to identify our regulated community
• a policy framework for remote inspections, which helped provide guidance on oversight during the COVID-19 pandemic, which will be used to further integrate remote inspections into the program’s oversight regime post pandemic
• a Surface Indigenous Engagement Strategy, which is currently being implemented in conjunction with Transport Canada Rail Safety to enhance communications with indigenous communities and address the concerns raised regarding the transport of dangerous goods through or near communities by rail, and
• a policy to address reverse logistics activities involving dangerous goods, a framework for the grants and contributions program, and a policy on transporting dangerous goods by remotely piloted aircraft systems – all of which are currently under development

Stakeholder engagement and awareness

Increased engagement and communication

Transport Canada continued to engage with first responders across Canada in a number of ways, including through the Transportation of Dangerous Goods General Policy Advisory Council Sub-Committee on Emergency Response. This sub-committee will continue to oversee the maintenance and updates of the Canadian emergency response to flammable liquid incidents in transport training curriculum (for railways and roads) stemming from the Steering Committee on First Responder Training.

The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Program also continued joint work with external stakeholders through regular engagement with the General Policy Advisory Council and its sub-committees on topics, such as policy and regulatory files, research, oversight, compliance and emergency response.

In addition, the program continued to engage with the National Compliance Working Group, a forum for provinces and territories to work with Transport Canada on inspection and enforcement issues related to the transportation of dangerous goods.