TORONTO - Two independent experts will take a closer look at Ontario's propane safety standards in the wake of a massive explosion at a Toronto propane depot that forced the evacuation of thousands of residents living nearby, the province's Liberal government said Thursday.

The Aug. 10 explosion, which left two dead, prompted angry calls for stronger provincial regulations that had permitted the depot to operate in close proximity to a residential neighbourhood.

The independent review will examine all aspects of propane regulation -- including enforcement and inspection -- and compare them to accepted practices around the world, said Small Business and Consumer Affairs Minister Harinder Takhar.

But that doesn't mean the government harbours secret fears that its current regulations are inadequate, he said.

"It's important for us to see what is out there," Takhar said in an interview.

"We want to make sure that our standards and practices are the leading edge practices, and that we leave no stone unturned to make sure that the propane facilities are very safe to operate in Ontario and that the public is safe."

Thermodynamics expert Dr. Michael Birk of Queen's University and B.C.'s former chief inspector for gas safety, Susana Katz, will conduct the 45-day review, which is expected to report back to Takhar in late October.

Once the recommendations are made, the government said it may also probe the safety of other volatile fuels.

But opposition critics dismissed the $250,000 review as another stall tactic from a Liberal government that's been asleep at the switch all summer as the province grapples with crisis after crisis.

The Liberals have been missing in action on all counts, from the province's faltering economy to the nationwide listeriosis outbreak that has been linked to eight deaths in Ontario alone, said Progressive Conservative critic Lisa MacLeod.

Premier Dalton McGuinty, who was abroad at the time of the explosion, waited days before speaking publicly about the disaster. He was also slow to respond to the listeriosis outbreak, which has hit Ontario the hardest, she said.

"For the public to have confidence in the public safety system, the McGuinty government should have been out front on this," MacLeod said in an interview from Ottawa.

"But it's a government that doesn't like to take the blame, so they're shirking their responsibilities and I'm very disappointed in them."

The Sunrise Propane fire triggered a series of ground-shaking explosions that levelled the facility, damaged nearby homes and roused terrified residents from their sleep. One person was killed in the explosion and a firefighter also died at the site.

The independent review won't investigate the cause of the explosion, which is the subject of an ongoing probe by the Ontario Fire Marshal's Office.

The only way to avoid such disasters in the future is to abandon the current system of self-regulation, dismantle the arm's-length agency which monitors propane facilities in the province, and bring safety inspections back under government control, said NDP critic Andrea Horwath.

Twenty years ago, the then-Liberal government ordered a similar review of regulations after a propane station in west Toronto exploded in 1986, only to shelve the report, she added.

"I think the evidence is clear," she said. "And I think we need to act on it sooner rather than later."

The Technical Standards and Safety Authority, whose creation McGuinty opposed while in opposition, has come under intense scrutiny following a series of missteps in the days following the propane disaster.

It was initially slow to respond with information about Sunrise's past safety record, then stumbled again when it released an outdated list of the Ontario propane facilities it monitors.

The agency has since updated the list and reported that it issued "cease and desist" orders to Sunrise Propane in 2006 because it wasn't complying with provincial regulations.

The safety authority shut down six propane facilities after the government demanded inspections of all facilities in the province. All but one has reopened, Takhar said.

Inspections of smaller propane facilities are to be completed by the end of the year.

According to the TSSA, current regulations forbid propane tanks within 25 feet of a residential building and 300 feet of a school.

The owners of such facilities are required to conduct their own annual inspections, while the agency conducts its own periodic inspections.

Birk and Katz will be working with the TSSA, provincial and municipal officials, other provinces and the propane industry to review current legislation, the government said.

The review will also cover some of the TSSA's operations, such as how frequently facilities are being inspected and how regulations are being enforced, Takhar said.

The government is also prepared to change legislation and regulations if that's what it takes to ensure public safety, he said.