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| Improvements rail safety |
June 1st
2010 | Source: Transport Canada |
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OTTAWA — The Honourable Rob Merrifield, Minister of State
(Transport), today announced that the Government of Canada will
introduce legislation to improve railway safety in Canada.
“Our government recognizes the importance of a safe and secure national rail transportation system, not only to communities across the country but also to Canada’s economic well-being,” said Minister Merrifield.
The proposed amendments to the Railway Safety Act will encourage rail companies to create and maintain a culture of safety and penalize rule breakers by enabling the Government of Canada to:
- crack down on rule breakers with tough new monetary penalties and increased judicial penalties;
- strengthen safety requirements for railway companies;
- create whistleblower protection for employees who raise safety concerns; and
- require each railway to have an executive legally responsible for safety.
The Railway Safety Act, which came into force
in 1989, gives Transport Canada the responsibility to oversee
railway safety in Canada. In addition to strengthening
Transport Canada’s regulatory oversight and enforcement capacities,
the proposed amendments are consistent with the legislative
frameworks of other transportation modes.
The new amendments will be backed by Canada’s Economic Action Plan,
which has committed $44 million over five years to enable the
government to pursue a robust national rail safety program based on
detailed inspections, safety management system audits and
enforcement action in cases of non-compliance.
Backgrounder
THE RAILWAY SAFETY ACT
The Railway Safety Act was implemented in 1989. It
sets the regulatory framework for addressing rail safety, security
and some of the environmental impacts of rail operations in Canada.
While the Railway Safety Act was amended in 1999, the Canadian rail
industry has changed significantly. Rail operations have become
increasingly complex, and rail traffic is growing rapidly.
In February 2007, the Minister of Transport launched a full review
of the operation and efficiency of the Railway Safety Act through an
independent advisory panel. The findings indicated that the Railway
Safety Act is fundamentally sound and that there have been positive
efforts to improve rail safety, but more needs to be done. The
advisory panel’s final report of March 2008 included 56
recommendations for improving rail safety, some of which require
legislative changes to the Railway Safety Act.
The Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities
also studied rail safety and issued its own report in May 2008. It
includes 14 additional recommendations, many building on the
recommendations from the Railway Safety Act review.
The Government of Canada agrees with the findings of both reports
and is implementing the recommendations and amending the Railway
Safety Act to further improve rail safety in Canada.
Transport Canada has established a framework to respond to both the
Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, and
Railway Safety Act review recommendations that do not involve
legislative amendments. This framework includes the Advisory Council
on Railway Safety, and the Transport Canada-industry-union steering
committee and working groups, which have developed action plans to
implement the recommendations.
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