Thank you, Mr. Chair.
My name is Phil Benson, and I am a lobbyist with Teamsters Canada. With me is Mr. Rex Beatty, president, Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, locomotive engineers.
Mr. Bill Brehl, president of Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, maintenance of way, couldn't be with us today, and my prayers are with him.
Railways have been self-governing and self-regulating without meaningful supervision or inspection, conducting business behind a wall of secrecy. These safety management systems are so secret that the MPs, the public, even we can't see them.
Are you surprised that there is no safety culture at railways? You know it, and Parliament has acted by unanimously passing, by voice vote, the amendments to the Railway Safety Act. The inspectors and auditors are ready. Workers will have a direct line to Transport Canada to report safety violations. Unions will take part in developing all components of safety management systems and will sign off on them. Workers are not inattentive; they are fatigued and will welcome fatigue management based on science.
We recommend a change in the current rule-making process. The rail sector should follow the rule-making process of all other sectors. The advisory council to the minister of rail safety should vet and recommend rules, like other sectors. Exemptions should be rarely granted, if at all.
We recommend that safety management systems audit safety violations and the resolutions should all be made public. The public has a right to know.
After the tragedy of Lac-Mégantic, the delayed Railway Safety Act regulation process is moving forward. Next year they might clear the approval process, and it might be years before the safety management systems and fatigue management is in place. This is unacceptable, and we strongly recommend that it be sped up. Companies and unions should immediately commence discussions on both factors. The direct reporting line to Transport rail safety should have been put in place yesterday.
After Mississauga, the transportation of dangerous goods is something that all sectors do well. ERAPs and the knowledge of dangerous goods that are transported through communities remain an issue. Without knowledge of what dangerous goods are in transit, first responders cannot be prepared. Even with knowledge, long response times are possible. A glaring problem is that of our first nations. They need to know and to participate in all discussions. That is a problem shared with smaller towns, especially regarding resources.
We recommend that ERAP discussions be expanded, and cities and towns and the public be given access to the information of dangerous goods in transit through their communities, reserves, and nations.
Crude oil has a UN designation. Diluted bitumen and Bakken are not crude oil. Dilbit may have environmental issues, but I'm not sure that explosion of the product is a concern. Bakken oil can contain more than 30 psi of gas; it would not be transportable by pipeline. If Bakken is like a gas, it should be treated as one and transported as such.
The new DOT-111 cars may not be adequate according to the TSB, and the acquisition of what may be inadequate DOT-111s is dismissed through cost concerns. The industry does not want to deal with these issues.
Teamsters, me included, have spent many years dealing with the post 9/11 crisis. The government, industry, and unions worked together because they knew they had to restore public confidence. It was inconvenient, costly, and “business as unusual”. Lac-Mégantic is rail's 9/11. I do not see any desire by the rail industry to work in any meaningful way to restore public confidence. It is business convenient, at no cost, as usual.
Teamsters Canada is Canada's transportation union. Moving oil by rail or pipeline is in our interest, as long as it is safe for the public, the environment, and our members. Our recommendations are to help get the public licence to move oil, consistent with government policy.
We have confidence in Minister Lisa Raitt. She knows her files and is moving forward. We ask that you help her move quicker, so that we can work with her, and you, to make rail transportation as safe as possible.
The following are the comments of Mr. Bill Brehl, president of the TRC maintenance of way. They are the people who look after the tracks, the infrastructure, at CP, and most of the short lines in Canada.
He says that they are understaffed, overworked, and they are tired, many working 10- to 12-hour shifts five days a week and then travelling hundreds of kilometres home on their own time. At home they have a handful of hours with their families before having to turn around and drive hundreds of kilometres back to the job. Their work shifts change regularly between morning, afternoon and night, sometimes all within the five-day cycle.
As a personal comment from me, that is a clear violation of fatigue management science.
This has been going on for months. So far this year we have been told that it will continue for the rest of the season. There are other cycles, more humane cycles, that we can work. However, current management has decided to experiment with this new cycle, which practically eliminates any proper rest.
Seemingly with no concern for our fatigue, our ability to focus, or for safety, we are constantly told by front-line supervisors that production is all that counts. Human beings aren't built for this. We break down. We become fatigued. When there's no attempt to manage it, we can lose focus. We can lose lives.
When the vast majority of main line derailments are caused by infrastructure or equipment failure, don't you think that the men and women maintaining these tracks should be properly rested?
The railways do not share their safety management systems with us. We have no education concerning what these systems are, let alone how they manage safety. We need this information shared with the workplace health and safety committees. Ask yourself, who's better to look after the safety of the tracks than the people on the tracks?
The way to achieve safer railways is through regulation, education, and communication, with all stakeholders fully involved. We are proud Canadians. We are hard-working, loyal employees, many of us second, third, and sometimes fourth generation. We want and Canada needs a safe, productive, and viable railway system.
Mr. Beatty.