'Protective Direction' Says Rail Companies Must Share Information with Municipalities

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The Federal Minister of Transport, Lisa Raitt, issued on November 20, 2013, a protective direction that requires rail companies to share information with municipalities.

Effective immediately, Transport Canada requires that:

• any Canadian Class 1 railway company that transports dangerous goods must provide municipalities with yearly aggregate information, presented by quarter, on the nature and volume of dangerous goods the company transports by rail through that municipality; and
• any person who transports dangerous goods by rail, who is not a Canadian Class 1 railway company, must provide municipalities with yearly aggregate information on the nature and volume of dangerous goods transported through that municipality and notify municipalities of any significant changes to that information, as soon as possible.

The measures address requests from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and its members for more information on the dangerous goods being transported by rail in their communities and supports municipal emergency planners and first responders with their emergency planning and response training. The protective direction was issued pursuant to section 32 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act, 1992 and will remain in effect for three years, or until cancelled by the minister or her designate, in order to allow the department sufficient time to develop appropriate permanent regulations.

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