Dangerous Goods Site Registration

Summary#

These are final amendments to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations that add a new requirement to register sites where dangerous goods are imported, offered for transport, handled or transported. The rules were published in the Canada Gazette on October 25, 2023 and require existing sites to register within 12 months of coming into force.

What it does#

• Adds a new Part (site registration) to the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Regulations so owners or operators must register sites in an online database.
• Requires basic information for each site, including:
  • the CRA business number (if any), the business name and head office address;
  • phone and email for a contact and a backup contact;
  • addresses of all sites where dangerous goods activities occur;
  • the mode(s) of transport used at each site; and
  • for each site, the classes/divisions of dangerous goods handled in the previous fiscal year and which activities (import, offer for transport, handle or transport) took place.
• Gives existing businesses a transitional period: they have 12 months from the coming-into-force date to complete initial registration.
• Requires annual renewal of registration within 30 days of the registration anniversary.
• Requires updates to site information within 60 days of a change.
• Defines "site" as a permanent location where dangerous goods are in the direct possession of the person conducting the activities, and clarifies several cases (e.g., terminals, ports, cargo facilities, rail yards).
• Lists exemptions so registration does not apply in specific cases, including:
  • goods merely passing through Canada without handling;
  • people who do cross‑border movements but have no Canadian headquarters or site;
  • locations where dangerous goods are only used as part of work or as raw materials (for example certain farms covered by section 1.22);
  • sites where goods are present only to enable law enforcement duties; and
  • oil wells.

Who's affected#

• Businesses that own or operate a site in Canada where they import, offer for transport, handle or transport dangerous goods.
• The regulatory analysis estimates about 52,190 businesses and 62,629 sites could be affected (Transport Canada’s estimate).
• Of those, an estimated 41,752 are small businesses.
• Federal departments and agencies that own labs, water treatment facilities or similar sites will also need to register affected sites.
• Some groups are explicitly exempt (see list above). The exact number of sites in Canada is uncertain (estimates in the background ranged from 42,000 to 82,000), so the real count may differ.

Why it matters#

• The change closes a long-standing information gap that left many sites unknown to Transport Canada, making it hard to know which places to inspect and which dangerous goods pose the greatest local risk.
• With a fuller, current inventory of sites and the goods they handle, regulators can better prioritize inspections and target oversight to higher-risk locations. That could reduce the likelihood or severity of dangerous-goods incidents.
• The government estimates the rules will cost a total of $10.64 million over 10 years: about $7.66 million to businesses and $2.98 million to the Government of Canada.
• Transport Canada says the safety and risk-management benefits are expected to outweigh those costs, though many benefits are not quantified in the analysis.