A Hamilton mountain Liberal MPP is calling for beefed up inspections on businesses that store propane near residential homes.

"We really need to look at that," said Sophia Aggelonitis. "We have to make sure all of the (businesses) in Hamilton and across Ontario are safe. If the rules are not working, we need to change them."

In the wake of the massive early morning propane explosion in Toronto on Aug. 10, critics are wondering about whether propane storage facilities should be located near residential and commercial areas.

Ms. Aggelonitis, who acknowledges there are propane facilities in her Mountain riding and fills up her propane container for the barbecue, wasn't aware of the facilities existing in her area prior to the explosion in Toronto.

"Now I am," she said.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty told reporters in Stoney Creek last week he is "prepared to do whatever it takes to protect the public's safety."

Although he stopped short of returning the TSSA to the public oversight from its current arms-length managing, he acknowledges there were inspection problems at the Sunrise Propane facility that blew up Aug. 17.

"Yeah, something didn't work, no doubt about that," he said. "Something happened that, obviously, should not have happened. Let's figure out what went wrong before we act precipitously."

An investigation is currently underway.

Hamilton East-Stoney Creek NDP MPP Paul Miller said the Ontario government should adopt the party's proposed "right to know" bill which was "shot down" by the Liberals in 2006.

"The province should take a good look about where these propane facilities are with residential area and schools," he said.

He said the party will revisit the bill when the Legislature returns.

This issue takes on even more importance in Hamilton, he said, with the devastating effects of the Plastimet fire, he said.

Provincial regulations require that above-ground propane filling tanks be at least 300 feet, or 91 meters from a school and a minimum 25 feet, or 8 meters from a residence. The requirements don't include cylinder exchange sites, such as at Home Depot or Canadian Tire.

There have been calls to revise the regulations and keep propane facilities at least 1.6 kilometres from residential areas.

The provincial government, said Mr. Miller, should do whatever it takes to make sure residents' safety isn't compromised.

"(The explosion) could have been a lot worse," he said. "We can't afford not to (look at separation from residential areas). Safety is paramount."

A location list released last week by the Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA), which conducts inspections and implements the law, found 337 sites with propane facilities in the 416 and 905 areas.

In Hamilton there are about 40 sites which range from the United Rentals of Canada on the South Service Road in Stoney Creek that has a propane refill centre, to the U Haul Company of Eastern Canada on Upper Wellington Street. Even the Hamilton Wentworth Police is listed as a propane refill centre on King Street East.

"We want to make sure all propane facilities are safe,"said Ms. Aggelonitis, the parliamentary assistant to Small Business and Consumer Services Minister Harinder Takhar.

Mr. Takhar has promised greater scrutiny of large propane facilities, such as the Sunrise facility in Downsview. He blasted TSSA officials for releasing an inaccurate list of propane facilities, and called on them to conduct increased inspections. The TSSA, under pressure from provincial politicians, released an "inspection plan" Aug. 19.

After conducting a review of propane facilities, the TSSA found several of them were violating regulations.

"We want to make this a priority for all Ontario," said Ms. Aggelonitis.

Hamilton Fire Safety Officer Bob Simpson said fire officials reviewed the list from the TSSA. He pointed out Hamilton doesn't have a large propane facility similar to the Sunrise property. Still they are aware of the facilities in Hamilton and are keeping a watch on them.

Unfortunately, municipal governments have limited authority over propane facilities. A 1995 Ontario Court of Appeal in a decision involving a propane explosion in York Region in 1986, ruled that cities can make laws on planning, but the "York bylaw was concerned with safety not planning."

After the explosion, York Region passed a bylaw to tighten up restrictions on propane facilities.

The ruling stated that the bylaw was attempting to impose rules on the facilities, which are only subjected to provincial legislation.