Mr. Speaker, this is rare. I know this is the first time I have had an adjournment proceeding to follow up on a question asked in the House of Commons, my question of February 24, where there has been such clear action by the government that I can start my adjournment question by commending the Minister of Transport for moving against the DOT-111 unsafe railcars. I know the hon. minister is unlikely to participate in the debate this evening and it will likely be the parliamentary secretary, but I am encouraged that Canada has taken action.
In the time that I have, I would like to go over this in terms of what the issue is in a nutshell, and proceed to ask what further safety steps the current administration is considering. Because, as the Minister of Transport has said in a number of the news stories, it is clear that rail safety is not assured even by moving to remove the DOT-111 railcars off the tracks. It is going to be a phased-in process. That is one issue of concern that I know some parties have spoken to. There is the concern that 5,000 railcars will be taken off initially, but another 65,000 will be removed over a period of three years. As we know, phasing out these cars is complicated by the fact that replacement cars are not being manufactured quickly enough to replace the most dangerous cars. We know we have the shipment of hazardous goods through Canadian communities and that it is a cause for concern.
I have noted that in the media coverage of the decision taken by the Minister of Transport to remove the DOT-111 cars there is also going to be an examination and risk assessment of the routes which are being used and ensuring that as much as possible is being done for rail safety.
So in line with what we know is taking place, I have a couple of questions that I would like to pursue this evening in our adjournment proceedings. Again, I am so pleased that we are moving to get rid of the DOT-111 cars because the Transportation Safety Boards in both Canada and the U.S. have said that these cars are unsafe for the shipment of hazardous goods. Canada has taken action ahead of the United States, and that is to be commended.
However, this issue remains, and I wonder if the hon. parliamentary secretary will be able to share this with the House. What other steps are being taken? Is the federal government now prepared to find a system of advance notification for prior informed consent for any communities that are located along rail lines that are carrying hazardous goods where they would like to have advance notification? We all know the tragedy in Lac-Mégantic happened with no notice whatsoever to the community that anything hazardous was being shipped through it. I think it is fairly clear from the investigations that perhaps even the shipper did not know how dangerous the unconventional Bakken crude would be.
I would also like to know if the federal government is considering following the lead of the U.S. rail safety improvement act a few years ago that instituted something called “positive train control” systems to ensure that an operator in a control room would know whether the brakes were working and whether all systems on the train were on track through sophisticated software on board the trains.
I would also like to know whether we are prepared to say that some goods are simply too hazardous to be shipped by rail.
Those are the questions to proceed tonight, but again, I am extremely pleased that my question on February 24 took place when we had no action and that tonight, April 28, we have seen substantial action.