Transport Canada Keeps Safety Exemptions Secret

[cybercoma]

Given the number of train derailments that there has been lately, you would think there would be more openness and accountability to the public on this issue. Instead, Transport Canada is keeping their safety exemptions secret. A spokesperson hid behind privacy laws, saying that the exemptions are third-party agreements that can't be divulged. The unions have been rejecting some of these exemptions, while Transport Canada keeps pushing them through with no accountability to Parliament or the Canadian public. All these years criticizing the accountability problems in Ottawa and there's still no accountability.

News story here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/transport-canada-keeps-exemptions-on-rail-safety-secret-1.2526631

Edited February 7, 2014 by cybercoma

[GostHacked]

What did you expect? All these points will be brought up again when another tragic accident happens. And still nothing will be done. Some reports I read indicate that CN and CP have not reported all their incidents. Missing many minor ones, which could lead to bigger problems. So really we have no idea how bad the rail lines and trains are.

Since Lac Megantic, we have seen about 10 other rail incidents in Canada that had potential to cause the damage as the train did in Lac Megantic.

[On Guard for Thee]

I read an item recently that suggested that a lot of rail incidents that occur in railyards go unreported, either because they are not required to be, or just simply not reported. One can only assume if it breaks in the yard it could as easily break on the "road". I'm no expert in the rail business but I do have experience in aviation and I know that in that business Transport Canada has nowhere near enough people to police every operation everywhere and I assume the same is so on the rails. However I know that a safety management system must be approved be TC for an aviation company to hold an operating certificate. Now that od course sounds like self policing but over my time I have found that there has been a very serious corporate culture around the SMS and woe be it to anyone who has an incident and doesn't report it. The idea being that safety is enhanced when you can fix an incident before it becomes an accident. Plus I recall some sage words of advice from a chief pilot once who remarked if you have any doubts about something you are about to do, think ahead about how the incident report would read. I get the impression the rail industry has a more "speak no evil" approach.

[Topaz]

There's been reports out that since Baird had the ministry, no one is doing what they should be doing in any form of transportation, just look at how many minister there's been.

[On Guard for Thee]

Well we can all see that the Harper gov't likes the idea of letting industry police itself. Yippee yiyo kia say some industries, like rairoads. If the airlines crash a plane and kill 300 people in a fiery ball, it gets a lot of coverage, even if it's in the middle of a Sask. wheatfield. If you crash a train in the same place and maybe only kill a few traind drivers, it barely lasts a day on the news. When you crash a train in the middle of Lac Megantic it seems to get a little more notice. May God bless those people and the grieving people they left behind. And let's pin Harper's ears to the wall and make him create a safety system that is not as bogus as the one that seems to be run by only the industry.