Transport Canada remains committed to several initiatives involving the Transportation of Dangerous Goods.
Briefings from the Department at The Ministers General Policy Advisory Council (GPAC), which CTA is a member of, report that over the next four years Transport Canada will continue to work on developing regulatory proposals for:
– Part 6 training (goal to address general awareness and function specific training);
– The Client Identification Database (CID) (database of facilities and locations where transportation of dangerous goods takes place, like shipper facilities, carrier terminals, warehouses etc);
– Fee modernization of TC’s Means of Containment Facilities Registration Program;
– Better harmonizing regulations between Canada and the United States.
It is expected regulatory proposals for these items could be available for consultation in Gazette I by mid-2020. These are in addition to recent updates to PART 7of the regulations, pertaining to emergency response assistance plans that go into effect March 2020. In addition, TC will be embarking on:
– An electronic shipping documents pilot program that will roll out over the next few years to test the feasibility of going electronic with TDG documentation;
– Updating of the emergency response guidebook (mid to late 2020);
– Continuing to streamline and enhance their enforcement regime to ensure consistent enforcement in all provinces and territories for all supply chain members;
– Enhancing their research and analysis branch to ensure evidence-based research continues to guide TC’s regulatory efforts.
CTA will continue to work with Transport Canada on all of these initiatives through CTA’s TDG Committee.