{"id":863076,"date":"2023-07-11T08:00:49","date_gmt":"2023-07-11T12:00:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecompliancecenter.com\/ca\/?p=863076"},"modified":"2023-07-11T16:04:19","modified_gmt":"2023-07-11T20:04:19","slug":"bill-c-33-plans-to-change-canadas-transportation-of-dangerous-goods-act","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecompliancecenter.com\/ca\/help-center\/articles\/bill-c-33-plans-to-change-canadas-transportation-of-dangerous-goods-act\/","title":{"rendered":"Bill C-33 Plans to Change Canada\u2019s Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Bill C-33 Plans to Change Canada\u2019s Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act<\/span><\/h2>\n

The regulatory system in Canada can be complicated \u2013 we don\u2019t even have adorable cartoons like the American \u201cI\u2019m Just a Bill\u201d<\/a> to explain it all to us. But a knowledge of Acts versus Regulations is important for those who have to comply, and changes may be coming to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act<\/em> (TDGA) that will have a significant effect on Canadian stakeholders.<\/p>\n

Basically, an Act is a piece of legislation passed by Parliament. It\u2019s the highest form of law and is usually not terribly specific. Acts usually set out the government\u2019s intention to regulate a topic, assign what government body would be in charge (such as Transport Canada for transportation issues), and creates a framework for developing regulations. Regulations would be created by the designated body and would go into the details of what can and cannot be legally done.<\/p>\n

Because Acts are created by Parliament, they\u2019re difficult to change compared to Regulations. For example, the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act<\/em> still is dated \u201c1992\u201d for the last major overhaul. But the Canadian government is working on changes that, if they are passed, will change enforcement as well as allow Transport Canada to introduce its planned Client Identification Database (CID). These are found in Bill C-33<\/a>, currently being studied by Parliament.<\/p>\n

What Is Bill C-33?<\/h4>\n

First of all, it\u2019s still a proposal up for debate<\/a> by the House of Commons and the Senate, so what we\u2019re discussing is not yet finalized. And it\u2019s not just a proposal on the transportation of dangerous goods \u2013 it also will update parts of the Customs Act<\/em>, the Railway Safety Act<\/em>, the Canada Transportation Act<\/em>, the Canada Marine Act,<\/em> and Marine Transportation Safety Act<\/em>. Obviously, this means that the transportation industry, and those who use it, should be prepared for eventual changes to a lot of aspects of the system.<\/p>\n

The overall goal of this bill is to modernize the transportation system and especially the ports. As part of this, the enforcement system has been overhauled giving Transport Canada new ways of dealing with violations. In addition, some changes were made to the TDGA that would address issues Transport Canada was already working on, so there wouldn\u2019t need to be another bill just for the TDGA.<\/p>\n

What Would Bill C-33 Do if Passed?<\/h4>\n

Bill C-33 would make the following changes to the TDGA:<\/p>\n