Transportation firms that handle dangerous goods must register in Canadian database

Transportation firms involved in the movement of dangerous goods are now required to register their business or worksite with Transport Canada (TC).

In response to new regulatory requirements, TC will require persons or organizations that import, offer for transport, handle, or transport dangerous goods in Canada to register their business and operating sites in the Client Identification Database (CID).

According to TC, the CID will be used to “better assess risk, enhance overall safety measures, and facilitate effective communication and collaboration” between the agency and registered firms.

Affected firms will have until Oct. 25, 2024 to register, and will be required to update their information annually. Visit the Government of Canada’s website to register.

Firms will be required to provide the following information when registering:

• The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) business number, if any.
• The name and the address of their headquarters.
• The phone numbers and email addresses of both a contact person and their replacement when absent.
• The addresses of all sites where dangerous goods are imported, offered for transport, handled or transported.
• The mode of transport of dangerous goods used at each site.
• For each site, the classes and divisions of dangerous goods that were imported, offered for transport, handled or transported within the previous fiscal year, if any,
• For each site, the importing, offering for transport, handling or transporting activities that were undertaken in the previous fiscal year, if any.

For registration instructions and FAQ’s about the database visit Transport Canada’s website.

Background

The Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act is the legislation regulating the transportation of dangerous goods in Canada by all modes of transport and promotes public safety in the transportation sector. The new registration requirements can be found in an amendment to the Regulations, the addition of Part 17.

Two audits of TC’s Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) program – an internal audit in 2006 and an audit by the Office of the Commissioner of the Environment and Sustainable Development (CESD) in 2011 — found that the agency did not have enough information on the TDG community to properly evaluate public safety risks. TC developed a national risk-based oversight system, but the CESD found in 2020 that TC was working with outdated or incomplete information of TDG firms.

According to the Government of Canada, the CID will help TC assess safety risks, enforce regulatory requirements and determine which sites to inspect and how often.