SECTION 2 - "Import"
"import" means import
into Canada, and includes transporting goods that originate from outside Canada
and pass through Canada to a destination outside Canada, except when the goods
are being transported on a ship or aircraft not registered in Canada;
BEHIND THE WORDS
The Transportation of Dangerous
Goods Program is founded on the activities of the consignor who is the person
who must determine if goods being shipped are dangerous or not. As well as
other activities the consignor must correctly classify, mark and package the
dangerous goods before allowing them to be transported. The program depends
upon the consignor (most often the manufacturer) carrying out his/her
activities correctly.
This raises the concern of how to
deal with a shipment which originates outside of Canada. There must be some
mechanism of ensuring that the initial activities of classification,
documentation, marking and packaging have been carried out correctly before the
goods are transported within Canada. In the 1980 TDG Act the attempt was
made to deal with this by requiring that anyone shipping dangerous goods into
Canada must have in Canada an agent to represent them. Unfortunately the only
involvement of such an agent in Canada was to receive documents on behalf of
the shipper. In practical terms there was no-one responsible under Canadian law
for consignor activities and no-one who could be prosecuted to ensure
compliance occurred.
To correct this, the TDGA, 1992 places
responsibility on a person subject to Canadian law to ensure that at the time
of import into Canada the dangerous goods or means of containment satisfy
Canadian law.
Questions can be raised as to who
the actual importer into Canada may be e.g. the consignee, the carrier,... No
cases have yet been heard in court but it is anticipated that the determination
of who is the actual importer into Canada is possible.
The definition excludes goods
transported in a ship or aircraft that is not registered in Canada and that are
not to be unloaded in Canada. This recognizes that traditionally these means of
transport are regulated by their country of registration just as the TDG
Act, 1992 regulates, in subsection 3(2), dangerous goods outside Canada
that are carried on a ship or aircraft registered in Canada.
Included under the definition of
import are those goods transported in a truck or train that transits Canada,
e.g., by train from Maine through New Brunswick and back into Maine or by truck
from Washington to Alaska through Alberta and the Yukon.
It is noted that subsection 3(3)
provides that the Act does not apply to the extent that its application is
excluded by a regulation or a permit. Currently, there is a regulation setting
aside certain emergency response assistance planning requirements for transits
of less than 70 km.
RELATED SECTIONS
Section 3 - Exclusions
COURT DECISIONS OF INTEREST
"Please refer to the disclaimer on page 0-1"
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