Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) General Policy Advisory Council (GPAC)

About the council

The Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) General Policy Advisory Council (GPAC) (Advisory Council) was established in 1985 under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act (TDGA) to advise the Minister of Transport on various strategic, safety, social, economic and technological issues related to the transportation of dangerous goods (DGs). The Advisory Council members and other subject matter experts (SMEs), (invited on an ad hoc basis), continue to meet at least twice (2) a year in the National Capital Region (NCR) or virtually.

The Advisory Council will advise the Minister on the following matters:

the safety marks, rules and safety standards – existing or planned - relating to the handling, offering for transport or transportation of DGs
issues related to the handling or transportation of DGs in urban areas
the nature and extent of the responsibilities and liabilities of persons involved in the handling, offering for transport or transportation of DGs
research and development programs relating to the handling or transportation of DGs
education and awareness programs relating to the handling or transportation of DGs
matters relating to emergency response measures during the handling or transportation of DGs
issues relating to the transportation of dangerous goods security

Membership of GPAC is drawn from specific sectors or organizations with an interest in the safe and secure transportation of dangerous goods. Members of the GPAC represent a variety of industry associations, including:

the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific and Kansas City railways and the Railway Association of Canada
manufacturers, consignors, carriers, and consignees
the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs
the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police
the Federation of Canadian Municipalities
the Assembly of First Nations
labour unions

The Advisory Council has also established three (3) sub-committees to discuss or address specific TDG issues, which then inform the Advisory Council and their recommendation to Transport Canada. The sub-committees are as follows:

Policy and Regulatory Affairs
Compliance and Response
International Engagement

Nominated members list

Chair of TDG GPAC:

Mr. Robert Loenhart
Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Safety
Canadian Propane Association (CPA)

Vice-Chair of TDG GPAC:

Mr. Henry Ridders
Senior Advisor, Transportation Compliance
Keyera Corporation
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)

Association	Member name and information	Alternate name and information	Observer / alternate observer name and information
Air Transport Association of Canada (ATAC)	Colleen Tieman Manager, Dangerous Goods Program & Regulatory Affairs Purolator Inc. Rhonda Jessop Director, Global Learning Labelmaster Inc.	David E. Rankin Vice President	n/a
Assembly of First Nations (AFN)	David Diabo Special Advisor Emergency Services	Irving Leblanc Director Infrastructure	Elizabeth Fox Senior Policy Analyst Infrastructure
Canada Safety Council (CSC)	Gareth Jones President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO)	n/a	n/a
Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC)	Tina Saryeddine Executive Director	Ken Uzeloc Protective Services Director Fire Chief – City of Kamloops Co-Chair, CAFC Dangerous Goods Committee Director at Large	Chris Case Fire Chief Co-Chair CAFC Dangerous Goods Committee Fire Chief in Chatham Kent
Canadian Association of Energy Contractors (CAOEC)	Chris Frank Manager, Transportation and NSC Precision Well Servicing	Russell Nibogie Vice President, Operations	n/a
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP)	Henry Ridders Senior Advisor, Transportation Compliance Environment and Regulatory Keyera Corporation	Claudette Panei Senior Advisory, Regulatory Regulatory & Operations	n/a
Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police (CACP)	S/Sgt Kirkland Richardson Emergency Management Unit Field Support Bureau - Ontario Provincial Police	n/a	n/a
Canadian Association of Railway Suppliers (CARS)	Sylvia Newell President Evan Clarke Policy and Event Coordinator	n/a	n/a
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS)	Janet Mannella Vice President of Operations	n/a	n/a
Canadian Council for Aviation and Aerospace (CCAA)	Leslie Hogan Senior Project Manager	Theresa Davis-Woodhouse Executive Director	n/a
Canadian Emergency Response Contractors Alliance (CERCA)	Shawn Barton Vice President Environmental Services Andy Jeves Vice Chair	n/a	n/a
Canadian Explosives Industry Association (CEAEC)	Nicholas Ebsworth Executive Director	Jessica Simon President	n/a
Canadian Fuels Association (CFA)	Marc Grignon Director, Regulatory Compliance Irving Oil Limited	Rob Hoffman Director, Government & Stakeholder Relations	n/a
Canadian General Standards Board (CGSB)	n/a	n/a	Beata Hart A/Team Lead Canadian General Standards Board Receiver General and Pension Branch Darren Eddy Manager
Canadian National (CN)	Anthony Ippolito Director, Dangerous Goods & Industrial Hygiene	Mahboubeh Nickghbal Manager, Dangerous Goods Regulatory Compliance	n/a
Canadian Pacific and Kansas City (CPKC)	Darlene Nagy Director Hazardous Materials Program	Megan Schumacher Manager Hazardous Materials Programs	Chris Bleichert Specialist Hazmat Regulatory Reporting
Canadian Propane Association (CPA)	Robert Loenhart Senior Vice-President, Regulatory Affairs and Safety	n/a	n/a
Canadian Radiation Protection Association (ACPR)	Ali Shoushtarian C-NRPP Manager, Nuclear Substances and Regional Partners Radiation Safety Officer (RSO) of Radiation and Laser Safety Department	Sarah Ternan Medical Health Physicist Department of Radiation and Laser Safety	Stephane Jean-François P.Eng, CHP, Radioprotection Inc. Certified Health Physicist
Canadian Standards Association (CSA)	n/a	n/a	Vaishnavi Somasundaram Project Manager, Worker and Public Safety
Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA)	Alf Brown TDG Coordinator	Geoffrey Wood Senior Vice President, Policy	n/a
Chemistry Industry Association Of Canada (CIAC)	Leah Hogendoorn Americas Dangerous Goods Lead, Global Product Stewardship Assurance Focal Point Kristina Adler Transportation Policy and Program Officer National TRANSCAER Coordinator	John Heater Global Advocacy Integrated Supply Chain Dow	n/a
Compressed Gas Association (CGA)	Richard Craig Vice President, Technical & Regulatory Affairs Anil Lal Director, Engineering and Technical Affairs	Jean-Pierre Dumoulin Technical Manager, Bulk Operations Air Liquide Canada	n/a
Council on Safe Transportation of Hazardous Articles (COSTHA)	Julie Prescott Senior Regulatory Compliance Specialist	James A Watts Regulatory Compliance Specialist	n/a
DANATEC	n/a	n/a	Joey Motokado Safety Training and Regulatory Compliance Manager
Department of National Defense (DND)	Chief Warrant Officer Dave Daly SJS Strat J4 Tn 3	n/a	n/a
Emergency Response Assistance Canada (ERAC)	Patrick Knight, CRSP Director, Safety & Emergency Management	n/a	n/a
ENSERVA	Katy Carley, B.Sc., CRSP Manager, Health & Safety	n/a	n/a
Federal/Provincial/Territorial Working Group on Dangerous Goods	Malcolm Mullin Director, Investigations & Enforcement Monitor & Compliance Alberta Transportation and Economic Corridors	Doug Horvat Chief Inspector Dangerous Goods & Rail Safety Unit Investigations & Enforcement Section Monitoring & Compliance Branch Traffic Safety Services Division Transportation & Economic Corridors	n/a
Fertilizer Canada (FC)	Katherine Kennedy Manager, Policy & Regulatory Affairs	Nadine Frost Director, Policy & Industry Standards	n/a
Forest Products Association of Canada (FPAC)	Kathryn Smith Senior Manager Sustainability, Bioeconomy, and Mill Regulations	Mahima Sharma Vice President Innovation, Environment, and Climate Policy	n/a
Mining Association of Canada (MAC)	Mike McDowell Superintendent, Materials Stewardship Teck Metals Ltd.	Geoff Smith Vice President, Government Relations	n/a
National Airlines Council of Canada (NACC)	David Bolton, DGPM Manager, Dangerous Goods Compliance - ACM Air Canada Maintenance Shannon Sauders Director Regulatory Affairs	Vanessa Lumia Manager, Dangerous Goods Compliance Air Canada Kevin Van Langenhove Program Manager, Dangerous Goods Westjet Réjean Beaudoin Captain, Air Transat	Ryan Gingerich Manager, Corporate Safety Investigations, Jazz Aviation LP Anees Munshi Corporate Safety Specialist Jazz Aviation LP
Private Motor Truck Council of Canada (PMTC)	Dominic Lefebvre National Safety & Training Manager M&O Distribution	Mike Millian President	n/a
Railway Association of Canada (RAC)	Scott Croome Director, Dangerous Goods	Nicholas Hodge Transportation of Dangerous Goods Specialist	Brianna Bowman Senior Administrative Assistant Operations and Regulatory Affairs
Renewable Industries Canada (RICANADA)	Stu Porter Independent consultant Biofuels Consulting Canada	n/a	n/a
Responsible Distribution Canada (RDC)	Mark Jasper Consultant	Catherine Wieckowska President	n/a
Shipping Federation of Canada (SFC)	Nathan Philips Operation Analyst Cedric Baumelle Director Marine Operations	Farah Ahmad Coordinator, Operations	n/a
Teamsters Canada (TC)	Mariam Abou-Dib Executive Director and Government Relations	Omar Burgan Director of Research and Policy	n/a
Transportation Safety Board (TSB)	Vincenzo De Angelis Director, Investigations Rail/Pipeline	n/a	n/a
Transport Canada (TC) Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Secretariat	TC.TDGStakeholderInformation-InformationsintervenantsTMD.TC@tc.gc.ca	n/a	n/a

Reports and recommendations

In November 2013, the Minister of Transport asked the TDG GPAC to provide short and long-term recommendations aimed at enhancing public safety and strengthening standards for the transportation of dangerous goods (DGs).

Three (3) industry-led Working Groups (WG) were created to examine issues related to classification, emergency response, and means of containment.

On January 31, 2014, the WG provided their reports containing recommendations for the Minister of Transport. The department has reviewed these recommendations on an expedited basis and established measures to further enhance public safety. TC continues to work with all its stakeholders through the GPAC and its sub-committees.

The industry reports are available below:

Report and recommendations from the Classification Working Group [PDF, 793 KB]

Report and recommendations from the Emergency Response Assistance Plan Working Group [PDF, 1.48 MB]

Report and recommendations from the Means of Containment Working Group [PDF, 2.29 MB]