RESPONDER THE THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE CANADIAN EMERGENCY RESPONSE CONTRACTORS’ ALLIANCE CERCA: FALL / WINTER 2025 Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661Fall / Winter 2025 | 5 Published By: Matrix Group Publishing Inc. 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CERCA’S WORD 07 A Message from the Chair ON THE COVER 08 Canada’s Emerging HNS Framework: Where Policy Meets Practice FEATURES 10 HNS in Canadian Waters: A Regulatory Perspective on the Rules You Need to Know 12 HNS In Port Response off the Coast of British Columbia 16 Lakeland Colleges’ Emergency Training Centre Prepares the Future of Emergency Response 19 TRANSCAER’s 2025 Highlights and a Look to 2026 CERCA SERVING YOU 20 Save the Date: CERCA 2026 Spring Meeting 21 Meet CERCA’s Contractor Members 24 The Founding Fathers of Canadian Emergency Response: Louis Marcotte 26 INDEX TO ADVERTISERS TABLE OF FALL / WINTER 2025 12 24 10 19 CONTENTS On the Cover: For years, Canada’s national marine preparedness has primarily focused on oil spills. However, Hazardous and Noxious Substances (HNS) are increasingly moving through Canadian ports, requiring a different mix of skills, equipment, and partnerships from those responding to HNS incidents. RESPONDER THE THE OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE CANADIAN EMERGENCY RESPONSE CONTRACTORS’ ALLIANCE CERCA: FALL / WINTER 2025 Canada Post Mail Publications Agreement Number: 40609661 CERCA: THE RESPONDER Published For: Canadian Emergency Response Contractors’ Alliance c/o Shawn Barton 200-5035 South Service Road Burlington, ON L7L 6M9 Tel: (416) 253-6000 shawn.barton@qmenv.com www.cerca-aceiu.ca To advertise in next issue, contact sales@matrixgroupinc.net / 866-999-1299. Read past issues at https://www.cerca-aceiu.ca/the-responder.Fall / Winter 2025 | 7 Alliance (CERCA) members have repeat- edly demonstrated the ability to meet the moment with professionalism, ingenuity, and speed. These experiences have shaped our collective knowledge and continue to inform how we prepare for emerging threats such as HNS. The Responder plays a vital role in that readiness. It is more than a record of our activities – it’s a living forum where innova- tions are shared, lessons are passed forward, and ideas are tested against real-world expe- rience. It bridges the gap between disciplines, connecting marine, rail, road, and industrial responders in ways that strengthen our col- lective capability. It also serves as an endur- ing resource, and articles written today may guide future responders years from now when similar challenges arise. To everyone who contributed to this edition – thank you. Your willingness to share your expertise ensures that the knowledge within these pages doesn’t just inform; it equips and empowers. As you read this issue, I encourage you to think about how these stories apply to your own work. Maybe it’s a method you can inte- grate into training, an approach that sharp- ens your team’s readiness, or simply a fresh perspective that sparks discussion. Every action taken from shared insight brings us closer to our shared goal: safeguarding peo- ple, the environment, and the industries that sustain our communities. Thank you for your dedication to CERCA and to the essential work of environmen- tal emergency response. I look forward to the conversations this edition will inspire and to the continued growth of our shared expertise. s the year begins its final turn, we find ourselves in a season of reflection and preparation. It’s a time when our work – often carried out quietly, under challenging conditions – comes into sharper focus. It’s also a reminder of why The Responder exists: to connect, to inform, and to ensure that knowledge flows freely among those who stand ready when it matters most. This edition’s theme follows Hazard- ous and Noxious Substances (HNS) in Canadian waters, which speaks directly to an evolving challenge. For decades, our national marine preparedness has centered on oil spills. That experience – shaped by countless training evolutions and real-world incidents, from coastal containment operations to high-profile shipping casualties – has given us strong foundations. But the landscape is chang- ing. The cargoes moving through our ports today are more varied, and with them comes a wider range of hazards – chemi- cals, liquefied gases, and other HNS mate- rials that require a different mix of skills, equipment, and partnerships. These pages bring together the expertise, case studies, and perspectives that can help all of us meet that challenge. Our upcoming semi-annual meeting in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, will carry these discussions into the field, with practical demonstrations, facility tours, and oppor- tunities to learn directly from those on the front lines. Yet The Responder ensures that the insights don’t end when the meeting adjourns. Whether you’re on the water, in a command post, or managing operations in an industrial setting, the voices in this issue are here to offer new ideas, practical tools, and hard-earned lessons you can adapt to your own circumstances. An ever-evolving industry History has shown that this adaptabil- ity is more than theory; it is in our DNA. From coordinated responses to major rail incidents in the Prairies, to large-scale marine recoveries on both coasts, Cana- dian Emergency Response Contractor’s CERCA'S WORD MEET THE CERCA TEAM CHAIR Shawn Barton QM Environmental Tel: (236) 983-1537 Shawn.Barton@qmenv.com VICE-CHAIR Andy Jeves NUCOR Environmental Solutions Ltd. Tel: (604) 910-6796 andyj@nucorenv.ca TREASURER Jessica Cain GFL Environmental Services Inc. Tel: (437) 997-1886 jkovatch@gflenv.com SECRETARY Jamie MacCorkindale Spartan Response Inc. Tel: (905) 580-5699 jmaccorkindale@ spartanresponse.com PAST CHAIR David Hill GFL Environmental Services Inc. Tel: (416) 458-9096 david.hill@gflenv.com COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR Shawn Barton QM Environmental Tel: (236) 983-1537 Shawn.Barton@qmenv.com Shawn Barton Chair, CERCA Canadian Emergency Response Contractor’s Alliance (CERCA) members have repeatedly demonstrated the ability to meet the moment with professionalism, ingenuity, and speed.8 | The official publication of the Canadian Emergency Response Contractors’ Alliance he volumes of Haz- ardous and Nox- ious Substances (HNS) being trans- ported through Canadian waters are increasing, and with that growth comes a need for a dedicated national framework. Transport Canada, through the Oceans Protection Plan, is leading that effort. As those plans take shape, the capabilities of the Canadian Emergency Response Contrac- tors’ Alliance (CERCA) align almost perfectly with what the country needs to make the system work in the real world. Why HNS demands special attention The phrase ‘Hazardous and Noxious Substances’ covers a vast range of products – from industrial chemicals to liquefied gases to corrosive solids. What unites them is their potential to cause harm to people, the envi- ronment, and local economies if they are released into the marine environment. Unlike oil, however, HNS can behave in radically different ways once spilled: some evaporate quickly, some dissolve in water, some sink to the seabed, and others react dangerously with water or other chemicals. Responding to these incidents isn’t sim- ply a matter of scaling up oil spill tactics. It requires an understanding of chemical behaviours, specialized detection and con- tainment equipment, and trained personnel managed case by case, often relying on the resources and expertise that happen to be available locally. That approach has worked in smaller incidents, but it leaves gaps in capability and consis- tency. Transport Canada’s plan includes new regulations that would require ves- sels and handling facilities to maintain HNS-specific response plans. It also envisions a ‘response coordinator’ role – an on-shore representative who can activate the plan, coordinate with local responders, and act as a single point of contact during an incident. 3. Liability and compensation will be addressed through Canada’s ratification of the 2010 IMO HNS Convention. This cre- ates a two-tiered system to ensure that polluters pay for the costs of response, cleanup, and damages. The goal is to pro- vide clarity and fairness in cost recovery while ensuring that resources are avail- able to support a robust response effort. who can work safely under hazardous condi- tions. This is why the federal government is pursuing an HNS framework distinct from the oil spill regime, while still drawing les- sons from its structure and successes. Building a national response framework The proposed HNS framework rests on three familiar but challenging pillars: prevention, preparedness and response, and liability and compensation. 1. Prevention focuses on reducing the chance of a release in the first place – through vessel safety measures, traf- fic management, crew training, and adherence to international maritime codes, such as the International Mari- time Dangerous Goods Code. 2. Preparedness and response are where much of the current effort is being directed. At present, Canada does not have a dedicated national HNS response system; incidents have been By Paul Adair, Staff Writer ON THE COVER Canada’s Emerging HNS Framework: Where Policy Meets Practice Graphic courtesy of QM.Fall / Winter 2025 | 9 training exercises, and ensuring that their resources are recognized and activated under the new framework. It also means investing in the growth and modernization of those capabilities – so that when the call comes, the tools and teams are ready. Moving forward together Canada’s commitment to a dedicated HNS preparedness and response regime is an important evolution in marine safety. By learning from the oil spill regime and adapting its structures to the unique demands of HNS, the fed- eral government is building a foundation for safer shipping and stronger environ- mental protection. For CERCA, the alignment is natural. The alliance’s mission, experience, and infrastructure make it an ideal partner in implementing the new framework. As Transport Canada moves from consultation to regulation, and from policy to action, col- laboration with CERCA will help ensure that the framework is not just a plan on paper, but a living system – ready to protect Can- ada’s waters, communities, and economy when it’s needed most. gateway, the alliance has reach and rela- tionships with local authorities, Indigenous communities, and industry operators. This regional presence is critical for quick deploy- ment and for tailoring response strategies to local conditions and risks. Challenges and opportunities A successful HNS framework will require more than regulations and policy papers. It will need practical capability on the water, in the air, and on shore – deliv- ered consistently and quickly. The chal- lenges are significant: Canada’s marine geography is vast, many communities are remote, and some areas have limited or no specialized marine response capacity. Integrating CERCA into the national HNS structure can help overcome these hurdles. The alliance offers a distributed network of capability, already proven in dangerous-goods emergencies, and adaptable to the complexities of HNS incidents. The opportunity now is to formalize that integration. This could include plac- ing CERCA members on advisory commit- tees, embedding them in planning and Where CERCA fits in When you look at Transport Canada’s stated objectives for the HNS framework, and then compare them to CERCA’s capabilities, the overlaps are striking. CERCA is already built to deliver many of the capabilities the federal framework will require, and CERCA members are experienced dangerous-goods responders. They bring certified personnel, special- ized equipment, and the ability to mobilize across provinces and territories. This is not theoretical capability – these contrac- tors respond to rail, road, industrial, and marine incidents involving hazardous sub- stances every year. Because CERCA maintains a formal veri- fication process, member contractors are regularly assessed for readiness, training, and equipment standards. That verification is renewed every three years, ensuring ongo- ing compliance and continuous improve- ment. This network of proven responders is exactly the kind of infrastructure that a national HNS framework can leverage. CERCA’s strengths are more than tech- nical. With members located in regions from the Pacific to the Atlantic to the Arctic Next >