Evidence of meeting #3 for Transport, Infrastructure and Communities in the 41st Parliament, 2nd session. (The original version is on Parliament’s site, as are the minutes.) The winning word was company.
A video is available from Parliament.
Conservative
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
Back to the consolidated revenue fund, I believe.
Conservative
Peter Braid Conservative Kitchener—Waterloo, ON
Is this whole notion of administrative monetary penalties also an area of continuous improvement? Do you see potential opportunities to enhance and improve this particular consequence?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
Certainly. Anytime we bring in a regulation, we look for ways to improve it.
The concept of administrative monetary penalties is something fairly recently introduced to our various statutes in the transportation industry, and by recent, I mean probably within the last 10 to 15 years.
It gives us more flexibility in enforcement and allows us to deal with the operators more efficiently. In the past, we always had to take them to court to get some resolution to the issue, which could be quite lengthy. This way allows us, through our inspectors and our enforcement people, to get to the nub of an issue in a more efficient and swifter manner, and hopefully get the desired result, which is a safer operation at the end of the day.
Conservative
The Chair Conservative Larry Miller
Your time has expired.
I will move to Ms. Boutin-Sweet, for five minutes.
Mr. Stoffer, you're going to take the five minutes.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
I'm honoured to be at the committee with you, sir. Thank you very much.
Thank you all very much for coming. On a cursory view, it looks like SMS appears to be more aligned toward the company's vision and the business vision, and not necessarily for the public and the environmental considerations. You even said in your remarks that regulations are more or less to adhere to the businesses, but you didn't mention people or the environment.
I can appreciate that, because a few years ago, I had a run-in with an airline on the east coast. They removed the life jackets from the aircraft and said that the seat cushions on the plane should be good enough. Somebody at Transport Canada had to authorize that. I just wonder how an airline could actually remove a safety factor and get approval from the federal government for that.
What I'd like to do, if it's at all possible, is for you to send to this committee all the notes and regulations and minutes regarding that action of how a regional line, Jazz, at that time, was able to get permission to remove the life jackets from the aircraft and somehow convince Transport Canada that the seat cushions were enough. I would remind you that they didn't remove the life jackets for the crew, just for the passengers. I'd like to know how that worked out.
If you wouldn't mind forwarding this committee that information in the future, it would be very interesting to see the comments on how that transaction worked. My concern is that I looked at these audits that were done on a variety of issues, and if I were a person in the general public, I'd be kind of nervous about what my government and transportation department are doing.
I worked for eighteen and a half years in the airline industry, and I have to say that the airline industry here in Canada is one of the safest industries in the world. Kudos go to Transport Canada. Kudos go to the airline industry, and to all of the people who work in it. However, when I start seeing little things chip away at what I thought were safety factors, I get a bit nervous about what may transpire in the future.
I'm going to ask you a particular question. When the government announced the closure of the B.C. oil spill response centre and the shutting down of the Kitsilano coast guard station, did the department in any way conduct an analysis of what these decisions would do in the monitoring of the safety in marine shipment of dangerous goods? In any way were you asked at all to—
Conservative
Jeff Watson Conservative Essex, ON
On a point of order, Mr. Chair, I appreciate the nature of the questions, but today's meeting is about safety management systems and the government's ability to monitor safety management and fully implement safety management systems. It's not about other regulatory policy or other government budgetary policy, for example.
Conservative
NDP
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
Mr. Chair, with regard to the two programs that the member cites, neither reside within the Department of Transport or our responsibilities at this particular table.
The Kitsilano base obviously is a Coast Guard issue, which is not an arm of the Department of Transport. The oil spill response organization, I believe is with the Department of Environment. I'm not 100% sure where that organization resides, but it's not within Transport Canada.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
As a courtesy, you weren't asked in any way to comment on those particular aspects, were you?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
I'm not aware that we were, but since they're both marine matters, perhaps Monsieur Roussel can provide—
Director General, Marine Safety and Security, Department of Transport
On the Kitsilano base, we have no comment on that.
However, on the other element you are raising, if I recall, it's related to the risk assessments. The Department of Environment is in charge of that, and they have informed us that the capacity to do an analysis in the case of an oil spill will be maintained. It will be delivered from Montreal.
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
My last question for you before I give it up is that my colleague from the Liberal Party inquired about the municipalities, first responders, having the information they need to understand what is being shipped to their communities well in advance.
Will we be assured in the future that those communities will know well in advance—any shipments going through any community in this country—what is coming through their community, and what type of containers they're coming in? Will they know when it will be there and what first response capabilities are there in the unlikely event that something may happen?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
The current protective direction calls for railways to consult with those communities about what is travelling through their respective communities. We worked very closely with both the Railway Association of Canada and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities in developing that directive. We've been assured by all railways that they will comply with what we have asked them to do.
NDP
Peter Stoffer NDP Sackville—Eastern Shore, NS
You say the railways certainly do that. Will you be monitoring them to ensure that they do that, or will you just take their word for it?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
No, we will be monitoring them, sir.
Conservative
Conservative
Wai Young Conservative Vancouver South, BC
Thank you very much for being here today.
Moving to the B.C. coast, then, and because I'm from Vancouver, I have a question around the SMS for marine traffic. It's my understanding that it has been 15 years since the implementation of SMS for marine traffic. Can you explain the delay in rolling out the regulations of compliance for this industry?
Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport
I'll ask Monsieur Roussel. He can give the detail, but there's a bit of a nuance there in that a certain section of the industry, i.e., those ships that are responsible or answerable to international convention already have SMS, and what we had talked about was moving the system further down to further cover portions of the domestic industry. I'll ask Mr. Roussel to give some more detail in that regard.
Conservative
Wai Young Conservative Vancouver South, BC
That was going to be my follow-up question, actually, how it interrelates with international marine safety. If you could cover both, that would be great.