Ontario Ministry of Small Business & Consumer Services: Managing the Toronto Propane Explosion (B‪)‬

In August 2008, there was a large explosion at a propane facility located in Toronto, Ontario. The Technical Safety and Standards Authority (TSSA) was a not-for-profit corporation that was responsible for the delivery of regulatory services and ensuring technical safety, and fell under the supervision of the Ministry of Small Business and Consumer Services (the Ministry). By day four of the crisis, the TSSA was perceived to be underperforming and the minister was called to deliver a statement. He decided neither to support nor reject the TSSA but instead called for the TSSA to audit all propane facilities in Ontario. The audits revealed that many of the facilities had minor compliance issues. The reporting of these results, combined with intense public scrutiny of the event, again called TSSA’s credibility into question. Faced with TSSA’s damaged reputation, the minister evaluated three actions: 1) change TSSA’s leadership; 2) bring TSSA back into the government; or 3) perform an organizational review.