The current legislation requires us to respond to an incident only if the incident involves an imminent and serious risk. The legislative changes will give us the power to act more quickly if there's a risk of a significant environmental issue.
For example, you're likely familiar with the Kathryn Spirit, a vessel that was once managed by the Canadian Coast Guard and that was subsequently abandoned. You'll recall that there were still traces of oil. According to the legislation, this didn't necessarily constitute an imminent risk. However, it was still an unacceptable risk to the public. Since the vessel was moored, Transport Canada considered that it didn't pose a risk to navigation. This created a legal gap.
The legislative amendments will enable us to act much more quickly. This will close the legal gap and ensure that the two departments can work much more closely together.