WHEREAS the new Asia Pacific Gateway has, and will contribute to, increased freight transportation along the Highway 16 corridor, including hazardous materials; AND WHEREAS the federal Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act regulates the transportation of hazardous materials including the emergency response support capabilities of shippers, carriers, andor consignees: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that UBCM request that the federal and provincial governments conduct a review to determine whether the emergency response capabilities are appropriate for the quantities and class of hazardous materials now being transported along the new Asia Pacific Gateway corridor.
Ministry of Transportation Infrastructure The Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure recognizes that the safe transit of goods and commodities on Highway 16 and the adjacent rail corridor is a concern of local governments. To ensure the safe transit of dangerous goods, and provide improved spill response capability, the Ministry of Environment, as part of its Environmental Emergency legislative review process and as the lead provincial ministry for hazardous material spill response, has been reviewing measures that could be implemented to improve spill response capability and capacity in the province while ensuring that those sectors that present the risk bear the costs. The Ministry of Environment is currently examining the concept of both an industry funding model to support prevention, preparedness and response activities of the Ministrys Environmental Emergency Program, as well as the creation of a regulated terrestrial spill cooperative by industry to ensure that geographic response plans are developed and the required capability and capacity to respond effectively to spills exists. Government will be review the options being prepared by ministry staff to determine how best to protect British Columbians from the increasing risk of hazardous material spills and ensure a true polluter pay system is in place.
Minister of Transport, Infrastructure Communities In Canada, the transportation of dangerous goods is strictly regulated under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992. The Act was designed with the sole purpose of maintaining public safety during the import, handling, offering for transport and transport of dangerous goods. The Transportation of Dangerous Goods TDG program is based on the premise that properly classifying dangerous goods and ensuring that they are transported in an appropriate means of containment along with the use of proper safety markings, shipping documents, emergency response assistance plans, and training are all essential elements of a preventative safety program. There are more than 30 million shipments of dangerous goods in Canada every year, with 99.999 of them reaching their destination without incident. A person who imports, handles, offers for transport or transports dangerous goods must comply with the Act, its regulations and standards. Compliance is verified through inspection by TDG inspectors. Ports and modal modes of transportation of dangerous goods are inspected regularly as part of the TDG inspection program. As you may be aware, Canada leads the world in the use of industry emergency response assistance for first responders. Emergency Response Assistance Plans ERAPs are required by the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations set out in Schedule 1 of the Regulations for certain dangerous goods that necessitate special expertise and response equipment. Any person who offers for transport or imports one of these dangerous goods must submit a plan to the TDG Directorate, which will then review the plan and, if it is found adequate, approve it. There are currently about 1,000 ERAPs that have been approved by Transport Canada. ERAPs are intended to assist local emergency responders by providing them with technical experts and specialized equipment at accident sites. Such assistance is available to local firefighters at no cost in response to an incident involving an ERAP dangerous good in transport. Transport Canada takes the lead for Canada at international dangerous goods meetings. The Department leads a federal delegation at the United Nations Dangerous Goods Committee, International Civil Aviation Organization, International Maritime Organization and the North American Free Trade Agreement dangerous goods meetings. Transport Canada is also a technical advisor at the International Atomic Energy Agency meetings led by the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The Canadian regulations are harmonized or aligned with international trading partners as appropriate to ensure not only a level playing field, but also the highest level of public safety possible as established by the Act. Further, the TDG program leads the development of dangerous goods regulations in Canada. The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations, adopted by all provinces and territories, establish the regulatory requirements for the importing, handling, offering for transport and transporting of dangerous goods by all modes within Canada. This means that TDG regulations are similar and universally applied across all provinces, modes of transport, ports and gateways across the country. In addition, Transport Canada operates the Canadian Transport Emergency Centre CANUTEC to assist emergency response personnel in handling dangerous goods emergencies. CANUTEC is staffed by bilingual professional scientists who specialize in emergency response and who are experienced in interpreting technical information and providing advice to first responders. The centre operates 24 hours a day and handles some 30,000 phone calls a year related to safety. In the event of an emergency involving dangerous goods, Canadians can call CANUTEC at 613-996-6666 or by dialing 666 on a cellular phone for immediate professional help. First responders fire, police and ambulance use this service on a regular basis. To enhance and support first responders capabilities at an incident involving dangerous goods, Transport Canada publishes an Emergency Response Guidebook every four years. The Emergency Response Guidebook is an informative and comprehensive guide designed for use at a dangerous goods incident occurring on a highway, aircraft, ship, railroad, port or gateway. It enables first responders to quickly identify the specific or generic hazards of the materials involved in an incident. For example, it provides a list of dangerous goods in numerical order by identification number or in alphabetical order by material name. The Guidebook also assists first responders in making initial decisions upon arriving at the scene of a dangerous goods incident. For example, it provides recommended evacuation distances, describes potential hazards of a dangerous good, supplies relevant public safety information, including first aid, and recommended type of protective clothing and respiratory protection. Transport Canada makes the Guidebook available online and in a PC downloadable version. It distributes almost 60,000 paperback copies of the Guidebook every four years, enough for all vehicles at fire departments, police departments and ambulance services across Canada. The new updated guidebook 2012 will be sent to first responders shortly. Should you have any particular questions with regard to the dangerous goods program, I would invite you to contact Ms. Marie-France Dagenais, Director General, Transportation of Dangerous Goods Directorate, at 613-990-1147 or at marie-france.dagenaistc.gc.ca.