G/TBT/N/CAN/454  
 
25 June 2015  
(15-3287)  Page: 1/2  
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original: English/French  
 
  NOTIFICATION 
The following notification is being circulated in accordance with Article 10.6 
 
1. Notifying Member: CANADA 
If applicable, name of local government involved (Article 3.2 and 7.2):  
2. Agency responsible: Public Health Agency of Canada 
Name and address (including telephon e and fax numbers, email and website 
addresses, if available) of agency or authority designated to handle comments 
regarding the notification shall be indicated if different from above : 
Canada's SPS & TBT Notification Authority and Enquiry Point 
Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada 
Technical Barriers and Regulations Division (TIB) 111 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2 Canada 
Telephone: (343)203-4273 
Fax: (613)943-0346 E-mail: enquirypoint@international.gc.ca  
3. Notified under Article 2.9.2 [X], 2.10 .1 [ ], 5.6.2 [ ], 5.7.1 [ ], other: 
4. Products covered (HS or CCCN where applic able, otherwise national tariff heading. 
ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where applicable): Water supplied on 
board conveyances (ICS codes: 13.060, 93.025) 
5. Title, number of pages and langua ge(s) of the notified document: Potable Water on 
Board Trains, Vessels, Aircraft and Buses Regulations (35 pages, available in English and French) 
6. Description of content: There are potential public health risks to travellers associated 
with water supplied on board conveyances. The 1954 Potable Water Regulations for 
Common Carriers (PWRCC) are federal regulati ons that aim to manage these risks. The 
PWRCC include provisions related to water disinfection, water quality and vessel construction that no longer reflect the latest industry or scientific standards. Consequently, 
new regulations with modernized requirements are being proposed to help ensure the 
continued protection of the travelling public in Canada.  
The proposed Regulations would apply to wa ter supplied on board passenger conveyances 
for the purposes of drinking, handwashing and oral hygiene, and for the preparation of 
food for passengers in Canada. Conveyance operators providing water to passengers for any of those purposes would need to ensure that it is potable, and provided in sufficient quantity for its intended purpose. Conveyan ce operators could supply water and ice from 
pre-packaged products, a potable water system, or from potable water containers.  
Conveyance operators would need to take measures to ensure that water is free from 
contamination when it is taken from a water supply, and that it is handled in a manner 
that prevents the risk of contamination on bo ard. Water would need to be free of E. coli. 
Operators would be required to sample and analyse water from on-board water systems for Eschericia coli (E. coli) on a routine basis, and ensure associated records are kept and 
accessible for one year. Conveyance operators would be required to disinfect, G/TBT/N/CAN/454 
 
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  decontaminate, repair or replace and flush on-board potable water systems should the 
water or the system be contaminated or suspected of contamination. Conveyance 
operators would also need to investigate the source of suspected or confirmed 
contamination, assess possible contamination effe cts on the rest of their fleets, and ensure 
records about water supplies, system activities and sampling results would be kept and accessible for one year. 
Foreign operators of conveyances with only a single stop in Canada per trip for passengers 
to embark or disembark would be excluded from  the routine E. coli sampling requirements 
and from having to complete an assessment on whether contamination could have affected 
the other conveyances in the operators' fleet, though they would be subject to the other 
regulatory requirements. 
7. Objective and rationale, including the nature of urgent problems where 
applicable: The objective of the proposed Potable Water on Board Trains, Vessels, Aircraft 
and Buses Regulations (the proposed Regulation s) is to protect the public by managing 
risks associated with water supplied to passengers travelling on conveyances. The 
proposed Regulations retain and clarify the key provisions of the PWRCC while providing 
updated requirements for water served to passengers.  
8. Relevant documents: Canada Gazette, Part I, 20 June 2015 
9. Proposed date of adoption: Normally within 12 months of publication in the Canada 
Gazette, Part I 
Proposed date of entry into force: The proposed Regulations would come into force six 
months after the day they are publis hed in the Canada Gazette, Part II 
10. Final date for comments: 4 September 2015 
11. Texts available from: Nati onal enquiry point [X] or address, telephone and fax 
numbers and email and website addresses, if available, of other body:  
The electronic version of the regulatory text can be downloaded at: http://www.gazette.gc.c a/rp-pr/p1/2015/2015-06 -20/html/reg3-eng.php   
http://www.gazette.gc.c a/rp-pr/p1/2015/2015-06 -20/html/reg3-fra.php   
http://www.gazette.gc.c a/rp-pr/p1/2015/2015-06 -20/pdf/g1-14925.pdf