Canada – Publication of Proposed Amendments to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (Registration Database)

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On June 25, 2022, The Government of Canada has created a new Transportation of Dangerous Goods Registration Database and will require persons who import, offer for transport, handle or transport dangerous goods in Canada to register themselves and the sites where they carry out such activities. Registered persons will have to provide administrative information about themselves and information about the dangerous goods and operations at the sites where dangerous goods are imported, offered for transport, handled or transported (called a TDG site).

This information would be used to conduct broader risk analysis with the intention of better informing decision-making, enhancing the efficiency of TC’s existing oversight framework and promoting compliance; all of which would help reduce the likelihood or the severity of incidents on TDG Sites and better protect employees conducting DG activities and Canadians at large. Even though these benefits are not quantified or monetized due to lack of data, they are expected to outweigh the monetized costs of the proposed amendments.

Information needed to register

When registering in the database, a person would need to provide administrative information, including

  • the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) business number;
  • the business name;
  • the address and contact information;
  • the name of a point of contact;
  • the address(es) of the Site(s) where DG activities are conducted;
  • the type of activity taking place at the Site (import, offer for transport, handle for purposes of transport, or transport);
  • the classes and divisions of all dangerous goods; and
  • the mode(s) of transport (road, rail, marine or air) involved for each Site.

For persons involved with higher risk dangerous goods the following information would also be required to be reported for each of the higher-risk dangerous goods involved in DG activities at the Site:

  • the UN number;
  • the Emergency Response Assistance Plan (ERAP) number of the approved ERAP;
  • the quantity range in the previous year; and
  • the number of consignments in the previous year.

Requirement for yearly renewal of registration

A person would have to renew their registration in the database annually and, in so doing, would be required to review and update all the information in the database, as needed, for each Site.

Information that would need to be confirmed or updated annually for each Site includes the following:

  • administrative information;
  • mode of transport;
  • classes and divisions of dangerous goods; and,
  • specific activities (importing, offering for transport, handling or transporting) that were undertaken in the previous year.

Transitional period

Persons already involved in DG activities at the time of the coming into force of the proposed amendments, which would be on the day of their publication in the Canada Gazette, Part II, would have one year after the coming into force date to complete their registration in the database.

Persons who start their operations after the coming into force of the proposed amendments would have 90 days after starting their DG activities to provide their administrative information, and would be required to make a renewal 365 days after their initial registration is completed.

How to register

The registration database application would be made available to persons online through TC’s website on tc.canada.ca on the day these regulations are published in Canada Gazette, Part II.

A registration would be deemed complete when all required fields, based on the type of dangerous goods involved in DG activities, have been filled out, the profile saved and sent in the application database, and a confirmation message from TC has been received.

Source: Canada Gazette