Welcome to Explosives Regulations, 2012

The Explosives Safety and Security Branch (ESSB) of Natural Resources Canada has been in the process of modernizing its regulations for a number of years to better reflect current industry conditions and to make them more accessible through the use of “plain language.” This was necessary as the Regulations are outdated (the Act was written before 1920) and difficult for stakeholders to navigate, understand, and determine obligations. The modernized Regulations better reflect existing industry practices and standards and how regulators address industry issues. This initiative eliminates some requirements that are addressed in other recently adopted legislation, and will clarify regulatory intent through better structure and clearer, simpler language; use modern regulatory concepts; and reflect evolving technologies and business practices. 

The Explosives Regulations, 2012, will be published in the Canada Gazette, Part I, on March 17, 2012, with a 75-day period provided for final public comments and feedback. During this consultation process, we will collect feedback from our industry stakeholders to ensure we consider your concerns and recommendations to the maximum extent possible. To assist you in understanding the proposed Regulations, we have prepared a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) document that is divided by part sections for ease of use. To view these FAQs, please click here. The proposed Regulations are available for review on the Canada Gazette, Part I web site.

After comments are received and evaluated (which may result in changes), the Regulations will then be published in the Canada Gazette, Part II, and enter into force in January 2013. At that time, a list by category of the comments and feedback with accompanying responses will be made available on our web site. Once the Regulations enter into force, accompanying guideline documents and reference materials will be made available to ensure that our industry stakeholders are provided with all the information required for a seamless transition to the new Regulations.

Any questions, comments or responses can be sent via e-mail to canmet-erd@nrcan-rncan.gc.ca or you may contact us directly at our headquarters in Ottawa:

Explosives Safety and Security Branch
Natural Resources Canada
1431 Merivale Road
Ottawa, ON  K1A 0G1

General inquiries tel.: 613-948-5200
Fax: 613-948-5195