The Coalition québécoise contre les bruits ferroviaires would like to see a standard established to control the number of decibels allowed for day and night time activities, creating an offence for any railway company that exceeds the limit. The CTA would have the authority to intervene and give the company 30 days to make things right. If, after 30 days, the situation persists, then penalties would apply.
The word "unreasonable" has a quantitative connotation [Note to editor: the witness strikes the table]. Have I just made an unreasonable amount of noise? The railway company could undoubtedly justify any unreasonable noise arising from its activities by arguing financial imperatives or operational requirements. That is why we are asking that clause 95.1 be amended by adding a subclause stating that people's health must not be affected, while stipulating the exact decibel level for day and night time operations. The Canadian Transportation Agency could then order the railway companies to correct the situation within 30 days. If that is not done, they could be fined.
The concept of unreasonable noise does, to some extent, change the act, but we don't think it goes far enough in protecting the quality of life for people who live near the shunting yards. Some might wonder why these people decided to settle next to these yards.
In Charny, for example, there was a buffer zone owned by CN. It sold the buffer zone to a developer. If CN didn't want people living next to its shunting yards, it should never have sold the buffer zone. CN made the wrong decision. The buffer zone should have been maintained to protect the shunting yards. So people are living there now. Some way to reduce the noise level must be found.