Regulatory Affairs Partnership Website

 Accepting US Hazmat Endorsements in Canada

Part 6 of the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) Regulations requires anyone who handles, offers for transport or transports dangerous goods (HazMat in the US) to hold a valid training certificate.

Subsection 6.4(1) of the TDG Regulations provides for US drivers who hold a document, valid in the United States, that shows they are trained as set out in sections 172.700 to 172.704 of 49 CFR (Code of Federal Regulations).

In the US, drivers that transport HazMat in quantities that require placards must pass a state-level exam required by Section 383.93 of 49 CFR. The state will then add a HazMat endorsement to their Commercial Driver’s License. In Canada, Canadian drivers are not required to have a HazMat endorsement on their driver’s license when transporting dangerous goods.

An agreement between the US Department of Transportation – Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and Transport Canada states that:

Transport Canada will recognize:
- the HazMat endorsement of the Commercial Driver’s Licence;
- a copy of the certification stipulated in section 172.704(d)(5) of 49 CFR; or
- a TDG training certificate issued under Part 6 of the TDG Regulations.

The US will accept a Canadian driver’s TDG training certificate in lieu of a HazMat endorsement.

Updated Truck E-Manifest Guide Now

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has updated step-by-step instructions in the e-Manifest: Trucks User Guide on how to create and submit an electronic manifest to CBP using the Automated Commercial Environment (ACE) Secure Data Portal.

Instructions are also provided on registering crew, conveyance, equipment, shipper and consignee information in the carrier’s account for future use in filing e-Manifests.

For a copy of the e-Manifest: Trucks User Guide, visit CBP’s ACE e-Manifest Information:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/automated/modernization/ace_welcome/ace_e_manifest_for_trucks/emanifest_in

CSA 2010 Changes Start this Fall

There is a major change coming to the North American trucking industry which will fundamentally change how fleet safety is managed by government in the United States. The roll out of CSA 2010, which stands for Comprehensive Safety Analysis, starts this fall and will bring in sweeping change impacting every motor carrier that moves freight in the United States, including Canadian fleets that move goods in and out of the United States.

AMTA strongly recommends all fleets that have trucks that travel in the US take steps immediately to find out more about CSA and how it will affect them,” says Mayne Root, AMTA Executive Director.

Carriers will be able to see where they rank against their peer group on safety. Shippers will be able to determine the quality of the safety operations of their trucking company partners. The US government says the goal of the program is to achieve a greater reduction in large truck and bus crashes, injuries and fatalities, while maximizing government resources.

The safety data will also be used to categorize carriers into “continue to operate,” “marginal” (with ongoing intervention) and “unfit.” Carriers will also be ranked against their peers in their category (e. g. 5 power units or less). The ratings will be updated every 30 days. The CSA2010 data will be aligned with COMPASS, an FMCSA-wide initiative that is leveraging new technology to transform the way that FMCSA does business. The data by carrier and by driver will be available via the internet.

The implementation of CSA2010 will result in three major changes.
1. The motor vehicle record or driver abstract will be changed.
2. Individual drivers are going to be audited and each will be given a personal safety rating.
3. An updated safety rating for each driver and trucking company will be issued every 30 days.

For more information: http://csa2010.fmcsa.dot.gov/

Gov Relations: BC Releases New Vehicle Inspection Manual

The Province of British Columbia’s Commercial Vehicle Safety and Enforcement (CVSE)branch has released a revised version of its Vehicle Inspection Manual with up-to-date inspection criteria that outline the minimum mechanical standards that vehicles must meet to operate on BC highways.

BC will provide a 45-day transition period to October 15, 2010, to ensure ample opportunity for all facility operators and authorized inspectors to obtain and familiarize themselves with the new requirements and inspection criteria. Full enforcement will begin following this transition period.

Other available policy documents associated with the Vehicle Inspection Manual include the Vehicle Inspection Guide and the Inspection & Approval Protocol for Vehicle Lights, Lamps and Reflectors. These documents are available through the Queen’s Printer of BC at http://www.vsis.qp.gov.bc.ca/default.htm.

In addition, CVSE provided notice in a compliance circular that it had made significant changes to the Motor Vehicle Act and the Motor Vehicle Act Regulations, in order to provide enhanced authority for CVSE to impose conditions and set terms for Designated Inspection Facilities licences and to cancel the authorization for Authorized Inspectors who are found to be in contravention of vehicle inspection program policies or MVAR requirements.

More Information
Information on periodic inspection of facilities is also available on CVSE’s website at: http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/cvse

Trade , GDP and Labour Statistics

Linked Here ... please find the following Data:

- US-Canada surface trade, July 2010
- GDP - truck transportation
- Canadian international merchandise trade, July 2010
- Labour force survey, August 2010

PDF Link

ACI eManifest Roll-Out Delayed Again
This time by one month to Oct. 31

Sept 2- The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) has announced that is again delaying the implementation of the ACI eManifest program for the highway mode, this time by one month from September 31^st to October 31, 2010. ACI eManifest was initially slated to roll out in June of this year, but was pushed to September to allow CBSA to ensure the integrity of the program given the volumes of data being transmitted by highway carriers. According to CBSA the reason for the most recent delay is related to the software of other commercial programs, not ACI.  Continued

HEADLINE: CSA 2010: What the Pilot States Have Learned
FMCSA Oliver B. Patton, Washington Editor -

The vast majority of trucking companies have not checked their status under CSA 2010, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's new safety enforcement program. Unless they do so, they could be in for a rude awakening after the system starts to go live.

At mid-June, 11,000-plus carriers had logged into the CSA 2010 website to review their safety performance data. That leaves about 489,000 that could be the target of an agency enforcement action starting in December. Continued