Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee.
I would like to thank the committee for inviting the Transportation Safety Board of Canada to appear today.
First, I'd like to take a moment to explain who we are and what we do.
The TSB was created in 1990 by the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act, which contains the act. The TSB is an independent federal agency with a statutory mandate to advance transportation safety by investigating “transportation occurrences” in the federally regulated air, marine, pipeline and rail modes of transportation. “Transportation occurrences” encompass both accidents and situations that, if left unattended, could reasonably lead to accidents.
The TSB’s objects are set out in section 7 of the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act. The TSB’s key objectives are to advance Canadian transportation safety by conducting investigations into the causes and contributing factors of transportation occurrences and identifying safety deficiencies, making recommendations to reduce or eliminate any such safety deficiencies and reporting publicly on its investigations and findings.
The TSB has the discretion to investigate any transportation occurrence for the purpose of carrying out these objects. The TSB's policy is to investigate occurrences that have a reasonable potential to result in new lessons learned that can lead to safety actions or that generate a high degree of public concern for transportation safety. The TSB's investigations and its resulting reports highlight issues that federal regulators and the transportation industry must address to reduce risks and safety deficiencies in Canada's transportation system. The TSB is independent and reports to Parliament through the president of the King's Privy Council for Canada.
In accordance with its mandate as an investigation and safety agency, the board is not empowered to assign fault or determine civil or criminal liability, and subsection 7(4) of the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act provides that none of its findings are binding on the parties to any legal, disciplinary or other proceedings. TSB is not a regulatory agency and makes no administrative decisions.
Given that we're here today to discuss the use of data, I'd like to touch briefly on our own process for collecting and using data. The CTAISB Act creates a number of privileges and evidentiary rules that are intended to ensure that the TSB has access to the information it requires in the context of its investigations. Pursuant to section 19 of the act, in the context of an investigation, wreckage and other items relevant to the occurrence are collected based on reasonable grounds. These items are examined and tested for the purpose of the investigation. Special tools are often needed to recover pertinent data, which comprises mainly technical information such as any data recorded and displayed in the instrument panel and onboard computers; the position of switches, gauges and actuators; GPS data showing longitude, latitude and altitude; and accelerometer data, which provides the exact position and orientation, as well as information on speed, acceleration and vibration.
Relevant data can include moments prior to and throughout the occurrence.
This information is necessary in determining the timeline of a transportation occurrence and enables TSB to fully carry out its mandate. With the exception of audio recordings of, for example, conversations from the flight deck of an aircraft, locomotive or bridge of a ship, pursuant to section 20 of the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act, any items gathered in the context of an investigation are returned to their owner.
As an investigative body, the TSB handles a variety of sensitive information. It is the TSB's top priority and statutory obligation to protect personal information collected in the context of its investigations. For example, the TSB is required to always intervene in court proceedings to protect its privileges, such as witness statements. We are committed to updating our PIAs for our investigation program, to ensure that it is inclusive of all the current technologies used to deliver on our mandate.
The TSB welcomes the opportunity to discuss with the committee how it has always protected personal information in compliance with the CTAISB Act and the Privacy Act.
Thank you.