August 7, 2009

It's approaching a year since a series of explosions rocked the Downsview community in the wee hours of Aug. 10, 2008. | What unfolded that morning - and in the days and weeks afterward - involved the displacement of thousands of area residents, millions of dollars in clean-up costs and most tragically, the loss of life. | The blast's origin was a Sunrise Propane facility at 54 Murray Rd., northeast of the Keele Street-Wilson Avenue intersection. While most residents were back in their homes later that month, and while evidence of the destruction wrought is beginning to fade (to varying degrees), what was instigated that morning has in no way been completely quelled. | Lawsuits, for one, are before the courts. Also, the Ministry of Labour, under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, has laid a pair of charges against Sunrise Propane with a court date scheduled next month. | Key questions also remain unresolved as the months have passed after investigators were able to sift through the rubble. While what happened in the events leading up to that morning has been well-documented, the critically difficult question of what can be done to prevent such a thing from happening again looms rather large. | It would appear there remains a ways to go to satisfy that pressing need. A provincial report on propane safety released last November - commissioned to deal with propane safety in general and not with the events of Aug. 10 2008 specifically - led both Toronto Mayor David Miller and York Centre councillor Maria Augimeri to cock skeptical eyebrows at the recommendations. | That's because one of the keys in question lies with the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA), the arm's length government body charged with handling propane distribution facilities in the province. While provincial legislation introduced in May will bring the industry under more control (a welcome move), some are concerned it falls short in that it keeps the TSSA away from direct control of a government ministry. | Sadly, it took the destructive events of Aug. 10, 2008 to bring about even these proposed changes. For residents to regain confidence that their safety is a top priority, the province needs to make a strong, definitive, transparent statement in this area. While ministry control alone won't necessarily guarantee that safety, leaving the authority at arm's length is worrisome. | Hopefully, the next actions we hear about will serve not only as an appropriate reaction to events that day, but also as a strong preventative measure that a day like that will not happen again.

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