Transport Canada (TC) Publishes Site Registration Requirements Amendment to Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations

Transport Canada (TC) has recently amended the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (TDGR) to include the regulatory requirement for Site Registration for all persons who import, offer for transport, handle or transport dangerous goods at a site located in Canada that they own or operate. The Regulations Amending the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations (Site Registration Requirements) [the “Regulations”] will respond to the issues highlighted in the CESD reports by prompting that TC is provided with accurate and current data about those involved in the transportation of dangerous goods in Canada that are subject to these Regulations, as well as the nature of dangerous goods involved in DG activities.

 

 

What is the objective of this regulation?

The objective of the Regulations is to reduce or eliminate information gaps that undermine TC’s ability to administer and enforce transportation of dangerous goods requirements effectively. Site information collected through the Regulations will better inform TC’s decision-making and help TC see that transportation of dangerous goods requirements are administered and enforced consistently and appropriately according to risk across the transportation sector, which in turn may reduce the likelihood and severity of incidents and accidents involving the transportation of dangerous goods. The Regulations will also serve to address the CESD’s recommendation in 2020 to strengthen the existing risk-based oversight program.

 

 

What are Site Registration Requirements?

The registration requirement can be found in a new part of the TDGR, Part 17. The amendment was published in Part II of the Canada Gazette on October 25, 2023.

17.3 (1) A person must not import, offer for transport, handle or transport dangerous goods at a site that they own or operate in Canada unless they are registered in the registration database relating to dangerous goods on the Department of Transport website in accordance with subsection (2) and comply with sections 17.4 and 17.5.

(2) A person registers in the database by providing the following information:

(a) the business number assigned to them by the Canada Revenue Agency, if any;

(b) their name and the address of their headquarters;

(c) the phone numbers and email addresses of both a contact person and their replacement when absent;

(d) the addresses of all sites where dangerous goods are imported, offered for transport, handled or transported;

(e) the mode of transport of dangerous goods used at each site;

(f) for each site, the classes and divisions of dangerous goods that were imported, offered for transport, handled or transported within the previous fiscal year, if any; and

(g) for each site, the importing, offering for transport, handling or transporting activities that were undertaken in the previous fiscal year, if any.

Exception — 12 months after coming into force

17.3.1 Despite subsection 17.3(1), a person to whom this Part applies on the day of its coming into force may import, offer for transport, handle or transport dangerous goods at a site that they own or operate in Canada without being registered in the registration database referred to in that subsection for 12 months after that day.

This amendment was published on October 25, 2023 (although it was registered for publication on October 6). The complete details of the amendment can be found in Canada Gazette, Part II, Volume 157, Number 22.

 

 

We are here to help

If you have any questions regarding this regulation, you can contact Global Hazmat’s team of experts and we would be glad to help.

For more information on the new database and to register, please visit https://tc.canada.ca/en/dangerous-goods/client-identification-database-cid.