| Environmental Response Systems
(ERS) is responsible for developing and administering policies,
regulations and programs to protect the marine environment, to mitigate
the impact on the environment of marine pollution incidents in Canadian
waters, and to ensure the safety of the general public. It works
with other federal agencies and departments, such as Fisheries and
Oceans Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard and Environment Canada, to
establish guidelines, the regulatory framework and mechanisms for the
preparedness and response to oil spills. It also manages the
National Aerial Surveillance Program, which serves to detect pollution
violations in Canadian waters and to collect evidence for use in the
prosecution of offenders. |
One of the most important programs that fall under the mandate of ERS is
Canada's Marine Oil Spill Preparedness and Response Regime.
Transport Canada is the lead federal regulatory agency responsible for
regime, which was established in 1995 and is built on a partnership
between government and industry. Within the framework of the
regime, Transport Canada sets |
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| the guidelines and regulatory structure for the
preparedness and response to marine oil spills. |
Transport Canada ensures that the appropriate level of preparedness is
available to respond to marine oil pollution incidents in Canada of up to 10,000
tonnes within prescribed time standards and operating environments. The
Regime is built on the principle of cascading resources, which means that in the
event of a spill, the resources of a specific area can be
supplemented with those from other regions (geographic areas) or from our
international partners, as needed. For further details, select
Roles and Responsibilities.
Regulatory Framework
Transport Canada regulations and standards, under the Canada Shipping Act and
the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, combined with international
conventions and standards established by the International Maritime Organization
(IMO), provide the framework for the department's comprehensive marine safety,
pollution prevention, enforcement, and oil spill preparedness and response
programs.
The international conventions and standards that are developed by the IMO, in
conjunction with its members such as Canada, aim to promote cooperation in
reducing pollution and the risk of major incidents worldwide. These
conventions and standards address such issues as ship construction, training and
qualification of crew and safety of navigation. With respect to pollution
incident prevention and preparedness in particular, Canada is a signatory to the
following IMO conventions:
- the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships
(MARPOL), which seeks to eliminate intentional pollution of the marine
environment resulting from ship operations and to minimize accidental
discharges of pollutants (Annex 1 of MARPOL). Transport Canada
administers and enforces the Convention through the Canada Shipping Act and
its regulations; and
- the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness, Response and
Cooperation (OPRC), which establishes a framework that
allows Canada to provide assistance to major incidents in other countries,
when requested, and to seek the assistance of our international colleagues,
if required.
Experience has demonstrated that regulating potential polluters through the
Canada Shipping Act regulation enhances preparedness levels. Under the
act, response organizations are certified by Transport Canada to meet the
regulatory requirements for their response plans, which include specifications
for equipment, personnel, and training and exercise programs. Oil handling
facilities are required to have similar on-site preparedness and response plans
and, in the case of ships, each ship must have a Ship Oil Pollution Emergency
Plan.
Furthermore, pursuant to the Canada Shipping Act, mandatory oil spill
response exercises are conducted with oil handling facilities, response
organizations and governments in order to adequately evaluate the effectiveness
of procedures, equipment and resources identified in contingency plans.
These exercises are realistic simulations of various types of spill incidents.
Canada also participates in ongoing joint exercises with the United States.
Marine Oil Spill Prevention
The prevention of ship-source oil spills is the foundation of Transport Canada's
marine oil spill prevention and preparedness programs. In addition to oil
spill prevention, the department is responsible for ensuring that Canada is
prepared to respond to pollution incidents. It works closely with other
federal departments and agencies such as Environment Canada and the Canadian
Coast Guard (lead federal agency for spill response in Canada) to prevent
ship-source pollution in Canadian waters, and with industry to ensure regulatory
compliance and response preparedness in the event of an oil spill.
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