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______________________________________________________________________________Stewart McKelveyDoing Business in Atlantic CanadaTransportation of Dangerous Goods and Hazardous WastesThe federal government and the provincial governments have basically harmonized their approach to thetransportation of dangerous goods. Generally, provincial standards that govern the transportation ofdangerous goods within the province incorporate the federal TDGA by reference. That being said,businesses involved in the transport of dangerous goods should be aware of both federal and provinciallaws.When dangerous goods are transported within Canada the federal TDGA applies. The TDGA does notexpressly define “dangerous goods” but classifies substances into various classes of compounds listed inits accompanying schedules. Any substance listed in the schedules is designated as being dangerous.Dangerous goods typically include explosives, compressed gases, poisons, flammable and combustibleliquids and solids, nuclear substances, oxidizing substances, toxic and infectious substances, radioactivematerials, corrosives and various miscellaneous products provided for in the regulations.The key requirement under the TDGA is that prescribed safety standards be complied with whentransporting dangerous goods.For the transportation of hazardous wastes, special shipping requirements under CEPA apply. Aprescribed “waste manifest” must be completed by the shipper, the carrier and the receiver. Wastemanifests are also required under provincial law and copies of the manifest must be sent to theappropriate provincial department for both the place of origin and destination. Where the place of originor destination is outside of Canada, a copy of the manifest must be sent to the federal Ministry ofEnvironment.Permits are required for the import, export and transport of hazardous waste. Hazardous waste includesdangerous goods and any substance on the “List of Hazardous Wastes”. All importers and exporters ofhazardous waste must provide notice of the waste shipment to the relevant Canadian authorities.EnforcementCurrent StatusThe federal government utilizes various means of ensuring compliance with environmental legislationsuch as establishing reporting requirements, authorizing inspections and tests, issuing control orders,clean-up orders, remedial orders or stop orders, and in some cases prosecution under federal statute.Most environmental offences are strict liability offences meaning the prosecution only has to show thatthe impugned act was committed regardless of intent. The defendant is then entitled to raise a “duediligence” defence, through which liability may be avoided if it can be shown that reasonable care wastaken under the circumstances.Penalties for offences under federal environmental legislation can be substantial, with seriouscontraventions attracting jail terms of up to three years and fines of up to $1-million per offence. Wherean offence is committed or continued on more than one day, the person who committed the offence is inmany cases liable to be convicted for a separate offence for each day on which it was committed orcontinued.Offenders who are found to have shown wanton or reckless disregard for the lives or safety of otherpersons thereby causing death or bodily harm are subject to prosecution and punishment under sections220 or 221 of the Criminal Code. The maximum penalty for causing death by criminal negligence is lifeimprisonment, while the maximum penalty for causing bodily harm by criminal negligence is 10 yearsimprisonment.Page 72