Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman.
Good afternoon. On behalf of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, I'm pleased to have the opportunity to appear before the Standing Committee on Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities as it studies BillC-6, the proposed legislation to amend the Aeronautics Act.
TSB last appeared before the committee on Tuesday, June 13, 2006. On that occasion, I accompanied our chair, Mrs. Wendy Tadros. In our presentation we highlighted that the Transportation Safety Board, under the CTAISB Act, is mandated to advance marine, pipeline, rail, and air transportation by conducting independent investigations into selected accidents and incidents in order to make the findings as to causes and contributing factors. Also, we identify safety deficiencies and make recommendations designed to eliminate or reduce any such deficiencies. Finally, we report publicly.
We also highlighted the importance of TSB's independence from all other government departments. This independence is key to establishing public trust and confidence in our work.
Because this session of the committee is dedicated to Bill C-6, I offer the following from the TSB's perspective.
Under the provisions of Bill C-6, Transport Canada is the government department directly affected by the changes to the Aeronautics Act. Although the TSB's work is not governed by the Aeronautics Act, during its investigations the TSB does evaluate the circumstances of every occurrence against the provisions of the Aeronautics Act. In this regard, it would make findings as to compliance with the act and related enabled regulations and other documentation where appropriate.
The specific Bill C-6 amendments that have a potential to influence how we achieve our mandate are in the following areas.
First, part II of the act now will provide the Department of National Defence with the legislation necessary to conduct investigations in an almost identical manner to the TSB. However, the provisions will only apply to those investigations being conducted by DND and to military accidents and incidents involving civilians.
Second, the provisions in part I will govern the establishment of a voluntary, non-punitive reporting system. This concept of a confidential, non-punitive system should have a positive influence on the reporting of unsafe situations in the aviation transportation sector. Although TSB has a confidential reporting system called SECURITAS, the TSB system does not incorporate a non-punitive element. The TSB currently participates in a working group with Transport Canada and industry to develop this new system.
Thirdly, the provisions of Bill C-6 related to the safety management systems are also of interest to the TSB, principally because this new approach has potential to significantly improve the early reporting and early resolution of potential and actual safety deficiencies.
Bill C-6 also provides the legislation related to the protection of information collected by the safety management systems. This factor has significant potential to ensure the quality of the information being reported and analyzed.
This concludes my opening remarks. I would be pleased to respond to your questions.
Thank you.