Ont. moves to toughen propane regulations following deadly 2008 blast

Legislation to strengthen Ontario safety standards following last summer's explosion at a Toronto propane facility is "long overdue," but still doesn't change the fact the Liberal government failed to take immediate action following the deadly blast, the opposition parties charged Thursday.

The government introduced legislation Thursday that would require the Technical Standards and Safety Association to appoint a risk and safety officer.

It also gives the government more legislative authority over the independent agency, which regulates everything from amusement park rides and elevators to the stuffing used in furniture and padded bras.

The agency came under heavy criticism following the early-morning explosion at Sunrise Propane last August that left two dead and forced 12,000 from their homes, especially after it was discovered the agency didn't have an accurate list of propane facilities in the province.

"This bill and its new regulations have not come fast enough," Opposition critic Lisa MacLeod told the legislature.

"The destruction and lives that were lost as a result of the Sunrise Propane explosion can never be compensated, and we believe the McGuinty government and this minister need to accept full responsibility for their failure to act."

The New Democrats said the amendments were proof that privatization of regulation enforcement in Ontario was not working, and called for the independent safety association to be replaced by a government agency.

"There was an abject failure of this corporation to fulfil its mandate and protect the public," said NDP critic Peter Tabuns.

"The amendments brought forward are an admission that the privatization of regulation has failed."

Consumer and Small Business Minister Harinder Takhar told the legislature that Ontario has some of the best technical safety standards in the world.

"However, where improvements can be made, it is our duty to make those improvements and ensure that we are constantly working to have the best systems and standards in place for the people of Ontario," Takhar said.

Enforcement the issue: NDP

The NDP said claiming to have the best safety standards in the world is meaningless if they're not enforced.

"If they are kept in a glass case, if they're only rolled out after an explosion ... then frankly they're useless," Tabuns told the legislature.

"No matter how beautiful a piece of legislation, if there's no enforcement, then those laws are not worthwhile."

Following the explosion last August, the safety agency conducted audits of large and small propane facilities in Ontario, and found 81 of the almost 200 sites with a storage capacity of more than 5,000 U.S. gallons were not in compliance with all safety standards.

Most of those violations were related to routine maintenance, but 11 of the large propane facilities had violations that posed an immediate hazard. All have since been corrected.

A second audit of nearly 1,500 small propane facilities found 35 sites that posed an immediate hazard, and more than 800 that were not in compliance with all safety regulations.

The second audit found that 1,335 of the 2,790 smaller propane facilities that were on the safety agency's records were no longer operating.