Major Hazard Control in Canada: A Change in the Regulatory Landscape

摘要

2003 saw major developments in the regulation of emergencies in Canada - changes that are likely to have significant influences on how companies operate. Surprisingly, however, these changes have received little attention in the media, and many companies may not be aware of their implications. This paper will review these developments, and will examine what has already taken place, some of what is projected in the next five years and also other trends that could well become important. Topics include: 1. The federal regulation of emergencies under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act; 2. Extension of the Criminal Code of Canada to allow criminal charges and possibly heavy penalties for senior officials and corporations, including an explicit legal duty to protect workers from harm; 3.Ontario's stepwise regulation of municipal emergency preparedness with the intended goal of NFPA 1600 compliance by 2007, and the implications for the process industries; 4. Potential regulation at the municipal level. The paper will also consider some of the issues associated with these changes and their influence on organizational behavior at a time when the process industries are about to experience significant demographic and economic challenge.