Canada Gazette, Part II, EXTRA Vol.143, No. 3 is the proclamation proroguing Parliament to March 3, 2010. As a result of this proclamation, the Government of Canada virtually comes to a standstill: Parliament does not meet, committees are suspended, etc. In other words, TDG Amendment 8 is delayed yet again.

I often get the impression the international community is beginning to look at Canada as a banana republic. Schedule 1 of the TDG Regulations is at the 11th Edition of the UN Recommendations and everyone else is working on the 15th Edition. And we are not making any headway.

If you received a shipment marked UN3471 and looked it up in Schedule 1 of the TDG Regulations, you will notice that it is not listed. Do you know where to go to see if it is a valid UN number?

So, Prime Minister—once Parliament resumes on March 3, what are your plans to get the government working? Are you going to direct the Minister of Transport, John Baird, to get the lead out and publish Amendment 8? Will Minister Baird direct Marie-France Dagenais to expedite amendments to fix Amendment 6 and bring Canada into line with the international community, i.e. 15th Edition of the UN Recommendations? Why is this so hard?

Prime Minister—New Year’s resolution for you: I’m sure you have heard of Mike Holmes’ slogan, "Make It Right"; how about for the Government of Canada: "Make It Work".

The Prime Minister has gone to the Governor General and now Canada is in the throes of a general election.

So what does this do to regulatory change? As the ministers are now in their ridings campaigning for re-election, how does Transport Canada get out the amendments to Amendment 6? There are a number of issues brought about by Amendment 6 that need to be clarified. Transport Canada (TC) did have some discussion papers posted on their website, but the website is now conspicuous by the absence of these papers.

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