(The following story by Scott Deveau appeared on the Financial Post website on June 1, 2010.)
TORONTO — The federal government is cracking down on safety violations at Canadian railways by legislating fines and increasing judicial penalties for rule-breakers.
The amendments to the Railway Safety Act, expected to be introduced in Parliament in the coming days, would also require each railway to have an executive legally responsible for safety violations and protect whistleblowers who alert regulators to any issues.
Rob Merrifield, the federal minister of state for transport, however, refused on Tuesday to detail the financial and other penalties contained in the amendments before they are presented to Parliament, but said they were “substantial.”
“We believe it’s enough to be a deterrent, and if it’s not, then we will keep upping it until we find the right balance,” he said in an interview.
The move by Ottawa stems from a federal review conducted of the Railway Safety Act launched in 2007 in the aftermath of a series of rail accidents, including a 2005 crash at Canadian National Railway Co., that spilled 45,000 litres of caustic soda into the salmon-rich Cheakamus River near Squamish, B.C. While CN eventually paid $400,000 in fines and another $7 million to fund fish restoration projects, a subsequent high-profile crash at Lake Wabamun, Alta., and a Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd., crash near Golden, B.C., in 2007 led to the review of rail safety in the country.
The panel overseeing the review of the act produced 56 recommendations in March 2008, with another 14 stemming from a parliamentary committee, that the amendments are meant to address, Merrifield said, including holding at least one executive accountable for accidents.
“So, you have one person that has a mandate and will be held accountable if that mandate is not complied with,” he said. “The whistleblower legislation will also be a part of it, so that if those who work on the rails see something that is a safety hazard, they will have freedom to report it.”
The number of rail accidents in Canada has been declining since their peak in 2005 when 1,477 accidents were reported across the country.
Last year, 1,038 accidents were reported across the country, down about 23 per cent from the average between 2004 and 2008, according to Transportation Safety Board statistics.
Both CN and CP said Tuesday they have worked with regulators throughout the process of the review.
“We do not expect any surprises in the forthcoming legislation, as we expect they will follow the RSA Review recommendation,” said Mike LoVecchio, CP spokesman, in an email. “It is too soon to comment on the legislation, which has not yet been tabled.”
However, the move to enact further regulations on the industry comes at a time when the federal government is reviewing whether other measures are also required in the country to improve the quality of service provided by the railways.
The Rail Freight Service Review is currently considering submissions from shippers and the railways to decide whether any action is required with a report expected this fall.