Transport Committee on June 15th, 2021

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Good evening, everyone. It's a pleasure to be here to welcome all of you to meeting number 38 of the House of Commons Standing Committee on Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.

Today's meeting is taking place in a hybrid format, pursuant to the House order of January 25. The proceedings will be made available via the House of Commons website. Just so that you are all aware, the webcast will always show the person speaking rather than the entire committee.

To ensure an orderly meeting, I would like to outline a few points to follow. Members and witnesses may speak in the official language of their choice. Interpretation services are available for this meeting. You have the choice at the bottom of your screen of either the floor, English or French.

For members participating in person, proceed as you usually would when the whole committee is meeting in person in a committee room. Keep in mind the directives from the Board of Internal Economy regarding masking and health protocols.

Before speaking, please wait until I recognize you by name. If you are on the video conference, please click on the microphone icon to unmute yourself. For those in the room, your microphone will be controlled as normal by the proceedings and verification officer. Just as a reminder, all comments by members and witnesses should be addressed through the chair. When you are not speaking, your mike should be on mute.

With regard to a speaking list, as always, the committee clerk and I will do our very best to maintain the order of speaking for all members, whether they are participating virtually or in person. I will remind all members to use the “raise hand” function. I will also be utilizing that function to indicate one minute left on the floor. When you see my hand go up, that means you have one minute remaining. Of course, with that, you are expected to conclude your remarks within that one minute.

Members, pursuant to Standing Order 108(2) and the motion adopted by the committee on April 27, the committee will now begin its study of railway safety and the impacts of railway operations on neighbouring properties.

I would now like to introduce our witnesses.

For the first hour, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., from the Canadian Transportation Agency we have Mr. Tom Oommen, chief compliance officer. From the Department of Transport we have Mr. Aaron McCrorie, associate assistant deputy minister, safety and security; Mr. Michael DeJong, director general, rail safety; Mr. Benoit Turcotte, director general, transportation of dangerous goods; and Mr. Jasmir Basi, regional director, surface transportation.

From 7:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., our second hour, from the Canadian National Railway Company we have Mr. Tom Brown, assistant vice-president of safety; from the Canadian Pacific Railway, Mr. Keith Shearer, assistant vice-president, safety and sustainability; from the Comité ferroviaire de Boucherville, Ms. Isabelle Bleau, city councillor, City of Boucherville, and Mr. François Beaulne, chair, subcommittee; from the Friends of Morice-Bulkley, Ms. Dawn Remington, chair; from the Railway Association of Canada, Mr. Marc Brazeau, president and chief executive officer; and finally, from the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako we have Mr. Gerry Thiessen, chair.

With that, we'll start off with the first set of witnesses for our first hour, beginning with the Canadian Transportation Agency

Mr. Oommen, you have five minutes.

[Tom Oommen, Chief Compliance Officer, Canadian Transportation Agency]

Thank you, Chair, for this opportunity to appear before the committee today.

My name is Tom Oommen. I am the chief compliance and enforcement officer of the Canadian Transportation Agency.

The Canadian Transportation Agency was established in 1904 and is Canada's longest–standing independent, quasi–judicial tribunal and regulator. The members of the agency, including the chair and CEO, are appointed by the Governor in Council for fixed terms. The decisions of the agency are made by panels of members, which are established to deal with specific issues under consideration by the agency. The decisions of the agency are made independently of government. The members of the agency are supported by a staff of public servants, like myself, who assist the members in their decision–making role.

The agency, through its members, has statutory authority to make decisions on a wide range of matters in the transportation sector. For example, the agency makes certain regulations, issues licences to air carriers, issues the annual maximum revenue entitlement to CN and CP for the carriage of western grain for export, approves railway line construction and adjudicates complaints from passengers and shippers. Agency staff also monitor compliance with and enforce agency orders and the regulatory framework for which the agency is responsible.

A fundamental public interest role of the Canadian Transportation Agency is ensuring that railway companies in federal jurisdiction have the required liability insurance. Federally regulated railway companies must have a certificate of fitness issued by the agency under the Canada Transportation Act, as well as a railway operating certificate issued by Transport Canada under the Railway Safety Act. In order for the agency to issue a certificate of fitness to a railway company, the agency must be satisfied that the railway company holds the liability insurance required by the Canada Transportation Act.

The Canada Transportation Act requires that freight railways hold specific amounts of liability insurance depending on what they carry. The highest tier of liability insurance is required by those railways that carry over 1.5 million tonnes of crude oil per year, or over 50,000 tonnes of toxic inhalation hazard per year. These railway companies are required to hold liability insurance of $1 billion per incident. The railway companies' liability does not depend on proof of fault or negligence. If more than one railway is involved in a railway accident, they jointly and severally bear the liability, up to the amount of insurance that they are required to hold.

In order to maintain their certificates of fitness, each year a railway company files a number of documents with the agency, including a certificate of insurance. This documentation states the forecasted amount of crude oil and toxic inhalation hazards to be carried by the railway company. It lists the insurance policies that the railway company holds, up to the required amount. Following submission, there's a careful review of the documentation. The agency would suspend or cancel a certificate of fitness if the liability insurance requirements are not met.

Just before closing, I will also mention one additional role for the agency. In June 2015, the Railway Safety Act was amended to allow a provincial or municipal government to apply to the agency to recover costs reasonably incurred in responding to fires resulting from railway operations. If the agency determines that a fire was the result of railway operations, it will then decide the costs that were reasonably incurred by the relevant authority in responding to the fire.

Thank you, Chair. That concludes my opening remarks.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Thank you, Mr. Oommen.

We're now going to move on to the Department of Transport. I'm assuming that not all of those present will be giving opening remarks, so I'll defer to the individuals to determine who will be giving opening remarks.

[Aaron McCrorie, Associate Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Department of Transport]

Thank you, Mr. Chair. That will be me, Aaron McCrorie.

On behalf of my colleagues Ben Turcotte and Mike DeJong, it's a pleasure to be here this evening. Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties, our colleague Jasmir Basi was not able to join today and she sends her regrets.

Today, I would like to take this opportunity to update you on our work to ensure rail safety in Canada and share a brief status update on our efforts to implement the Auditor General's recommendations from the follow-up audit on rail safety, as well as the recommendations from the commissioner of the environment and sustainable development's follow-up audit on the transportation of dangerous goods.

Every day railway companies carry goods, including dangerous goods, across the country that are essential to our well-being, the creation of jobs and economic growth. For example, rail transportation ensures that prairie grain gets to export markets, consumer goods get to Canadian households, and communities get chlorine to ensure safe drinking water or propane for heating and fuel. Transport Canada is committed to ensuring the safe and secure movement of these goods by rail, especially dangerous goods.

An effective safety program is built around multiple lines of defence, with each component enhancing and complementing the other. Transport Canada has a comprehensive safety strategy in place to prevent and minimize the impacts of rail accidents and to effectively respond to incidents involving dangerous goods. Transport Canada prescribes stringent safety requirements for railway operations and to transport dangerous goods by rail. For example, all federal railways operating in Canada are required to ensure that dangerous goods are transported in the appropriate means of containment, such as the new more robust tank cars required for flammable liquids; comply with the key trains and key routes rule, which sets out slower track speeds and increased track inspection requirements for trains carrying dangerous goods; adhere to the track safety rules, which set out strict safety requirements to protect the integrity of our railway tracks; have an improved emergency response assistance plan, ERAP, that describes the response capabilities, including the specialized personnel and equipment needed to respond to an accident involving dangerous goods; and to provide comprehensive dangerous goods information to emergency planning officials, which can be easily accessed in an emergency to support first responders.

These requirements are supported [Technical difficulty—Editor]. On average, Transport Canada completes about 35,000 rail safety inspections and about 4,000 dangerous goods inspections per year. Additionally, the rail safety program now conducts, on average, 25 SMS audits, safety management system audits, per year, up from three per year in 2013. These inspections and audits allow Transport Canada to swiftly detect and support the resolution of non-compliances, educate stakeholders on regulatory requirements and best practices and take enforcement action when necessary.

These efforts have allowed us to demonstrate real results for improving safety for Canadians and their communities.

I would like to quote the Transportation Safety Board, which tweeted in March, “959 railway accidents were reported to the TSB in 2020—a 12% decrease from the five-year average of 1,091—and 59 rail-related fatalities reported in 2020, 13 fewer than the previous year”.

The transportation of dangerous goods program is also making progress on the safety front. There were 81 rail accidents where dangerous goods were present, though not necessarily released in 2020, down from 171 in 2019 and well below the five-year average of 128. These statistics show that our improved oversight is leading to better results, but we can and need to do better. We are always striving to improve upon our strong foundation of safety.

The Auditor General’s work on rail safety and the transportation of dangerous goods has challenged and guided us to do better in our commitment to being a world-class regulator, and to continuously improve. Recognizing the importance of continuous improvement, we are working hard to implement the Auditor General’s recommendations.

The transportation of dangerous goods program has made significant progress in addressing the recommendations from their follow-up audit. For example, we have improved and updated databases to have more complete and accurate information on regulated companies and their compliance status. We have enhanced how we assess compliance for means of containment. We have implemented an online tracking system to ensure conditions for moving ERAPs are met.

The rail safety program is also making progress to address the Auditor General’s recommendations. We have established a process to integrate the findings from audits of safety management systems into our oversight planning. This means that our oversight is even more risk-based and comprehensive. Our inspections account for the findings from safety management system audits, and vice versa.

We have also achieved early progress against other recommendations. For example, we have developed guidelines for follow up on safety management system audits, improved our data management of safety management systems by launching the pilot of a new database that tracks audit findings, and established a framework to support our auditors in conducting effectiveness audits of safety management systems.

I'm pleased to note that we are on track to launch effectiveness audits of safety management systems in September 2021, which aligns with the Auditor General's recommendations.

To conclude, these actions are consistent with our broader commitment to protecting Canadians who live and work along rail lines. While the data shows we have a strong safety program in place, we remain committed to doing even better.

Thank you. We look forward to your questions.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Thank you, Mr. McCrorie.

Thank you to all of the presenters.

We're now going to move to our questions, starting with the Conservative Party and Doug Shipley for six minutes.

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Thank you, Chair.

Thank you to all of our guests for being here tonight.

With your indulgence, Chair, I'm going to relay a story that I've already told once before, but seeing that we're discussing rail safety, this is a very pertinent and touching story.

I'd like to recall a tragic event that took place in my riding just this year, on February 21, 2021. On a crisp winter morning, a Sunday morning to be exact, at 9:20, a young 13-year-old, grade 8 student by the name of Kevin Morgan, who attended Portage View Public School in my riding, was walking his dog along some CP railway tracks just north of Highway 90 in Springwater. What happened was very tragic. This young boy's dog got loose from his lead, and the young boy tried to push the dog out of the way, successfully saving the dog, but regretfully, didn't himself get out of the way in time to miss an oncoming train. His life was taken that early morning. Obviously, it's a tragic event that has affected the community and family.

I know that all accidents are not preventable, but I would like to know that there's some comfort to the family in knowing that something can be done going forward.

I'd like to address this to Mr. Oommen and also to Mr. McCrorie. Is there any way, going forward, we could help educate youngsters on, obviously, the perils of being on train tracks?

I know this isn't the first time, and it's not the last time, but hopefully it will be some of the limited times. Perhaps you could expand on a tragic incident like this and what's being done to prevent it in the future.

Thank you.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Mr. McCrorie.

[Aaron McCrorie]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

First of all, our deepest sympathies to the family.

This is the business we're in, trying to prevent these kinds of deaths.

The member highlights a particularly challenging area for us in railway safety. Last year there were 59 rail-related fatalities, and 39 of them, the majority of them, involved what I'll describe as “trespassing”. I don't want to suggest that in this instance it was trespassing, but that's where the vast majority of the deaths are taking place.

One of the challenges we have, from a regulatory point of view, is that it's very hard to regulate that. The success story that I can point to is Operation Lifesaver. In 2020 we gave $2 million in funding to Operation Lifesaver, which is an organization that does a lot of community outreach—safety promotion efforts with community groups, with schools, for example. It's a long-standing success story in the rail safety program. I think it's these efforts, which are very much about educating people about the perils and dangers of being around trains, being around railway tracks, and addressing individuals when they're young, so that we create a culture of safety from the get-go.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Mr. Oommen, do you want to comment?

[Tom Oommen]

Mr. Chair, no thanks. I have no further comments.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Great. Thank you.

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

This next question will be for Mr. Oommen.

A few weeks ago the Minister of Transport and several other government representatives announced more than $21 million in funding for new projects under the rail safety improvement program to enhance rail safety in Canada. They announced that this money would largely go towards increasing public awareness and confidence in Canada's rail transportation system.

As chief compliance officer, can you please outline some of the actual programs this money is likely to fund and what direct impact new programs could have on the industry?

[Tom Oommen]

Mr. Chair, that funding is actually not going to the Canadian Transportation Agency. I defer to Mr. McCrorie on that one.

[Aaron McCrorie]

Actually, Mr. Chair, if it's okay, our DG of rail safety, Mike DeJong, can speak to some of the things that are funded under that program.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Thank you, gentlemen.

Mr. DeJong.

[Michael DeJong, Director General, Rail Safety, Department of Transport]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the question.

As the honourable member mentioned, this year the department announced more than $21 million through our rail safety improvement program. This includes, for example, funding for projects to enhance grade crossing safety, specifically, for example, to help address and prevent the type of tragedy that was just mentioned. This includes improvements to infrastructure at grade crossings and improvements to signage and to warnings. As Mr. McCrorie mentioned, that program also provides funding to Operation Lifesaver, specifically $2 million to help mitigate and prevent tragic circumstances, such as improving mental health and preventing suicide.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Mr. Shipley.

[Doug Shipley, Conservative, Barrie—Springwater—Oro-Medonte, ON]

Thank you for that.

This is also for you, Mr. DeJong, if possible.

The 2021 Auditor General's report on railway safety outlined that Canadian rail safety is being affected by extreme weather conditions and climate change. Can you please outline in what ways our aging and weathered rail infrastructure is impacting rail safety in Canada?

[Michael DeJong]

Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the question.

Indeed, as the Auditor General's follow-up audit pointed out, Canada's railway network is impacted by extreme weather and climate change. To address those risks, Transport Canada has put in place specific aspects of our oversight program, such as our winter track inspection program. We specifically take a risk-based approach that looks at where track is particularly susceptible to cold weather patterns or, for example, washouts or erosion that could be caused by climate change. Then we specifically focus our inspection to help detect and then mitigate issues that would arise from climate change.

That is one example. There's another example specifically around the natural hazards track inspection program that looks at other impacts, such as the impacts of climate change on terrain and track beds. That allows us to then focus our oversight regime to take a look at those types of impacts and then mitigate them.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Thank you, Mr. DeJong.

Thank you, Mr. Shipley.

We're now going to move on to the Liberal Party and Ms. Martinez Ferrada for six minutes.

[Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Liberal, Hochelaga, QC]

Thank you, Mr. Chair.

Statements have been made at some of the assemblies or public meetings my colleague here, Mr. Bachrach, has organized, and I would like to hear your thoughts on a few of them.

We heard at one of those meetings that it apparently took Transport Canada eight years to act on the recommendations stemming from the review into the Lac‑Mégantic tragedy.

If that is correct, could you elaborate on it?

[Aaron McCrorie]

I'll start, then perhaps turn to my colleague, Michael DeJong.

If you cast your mind back to those tragic events of Lac-Mégantic, Transport Canada took immediate action in the aftermath to that. For example, we strengthened our tank car standards, put in place new rules to secure trains, new track safety rules and the key routes and key trains rule that required track inspections and reduced speeds. Those actions were taken immediately.

In fact, since 2013, there have been five parliamentary reports and OAG reports that have provided 58 recommendations in total to Transport Canada. Over that period of time, we have addressed 36 of those, which is 62%, and we are continuing to work on the remaining 22 recommendations. In addition, the Transportation Safety Board over that period of time issued eight reports that included 14 recommendations. Of those, eight are closed, three are considered satisfactory in part and two are considered satisfactory intent.

Part of what we've had to do as we've dealt with the recommendations that have come over the last eight years is—

I'm sorry?

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Go ahead, Mr. McCrorie.

[Aaron McCrorie]

We've had to make choices about putting our priority on what changes, what recommendations, we should address first in terms of ensuring the greatest of value from a safety point of view. For example, one recommendation was to enhance our safety management system regulations. Another was to conduct effectiveness audits of those requirements. Our first step was in 2015 to bring in the new SMS requirements. Our second step was to make sure that companies had properly implemented them, and we're now turning our attention to doing effectiveness audits, as I suggested, in September of 2021. I think Mike might also be able to provide a little bit more detail in terms of some of the work we've done subsequent to Lac Mégantic.

[The Chair, Liberal, Vance Badawey]

Mr. DeJong.