Re-evaluate speed limits for trains carrying oil
STRASBOURG, France — Fresh from his meeting in Washington, Justin Trudeau sought to bring Europe a message of reassurance Thursday about the anxiety it faces over Donald Trump’s antipathy towards the continent.
Trudeau’s recent visit to the White House, kicking off a whirlwind week of international travel, was closely watched in the European Union, which endured another round of bashing this week from Trump’s pick for ambassador to Brussels.
Trudeau’s host, Antonio Tajani, the president of the European Parliament, said Europe views Canada as an important bridge builder in its attempt to forge positive relations with the United States.
“It’s easier for the Canadians to speak to the Americans,” Tajani said, seated next to Trudeau at their joint press conference in Strasbourg, France, the seat of the bloc’s 28-country parliament.
The Trump-Trudeau meeting on Monday “paved the way for better relations between European Union and the United States of America,” Tajani said.
“We want to work with the Americans. Over the next years, the Canadian work is very good for relations between us and America.”
Trudeau elaborated on his meeting with Trump, saying the two are seeking common ground to help the middle classes of their two countries prosper.
“What I saw from the American president was a focus on getting things done for the people who supported him and who believe in him, while demonstrating that good relations with one’s neighbours is a great way of getting things done,” said Trudeau.
The prime minister called that “a positive example that everyone is going benefit from around the world.”
Trudeau said the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Europe would likely be ratified by Canada by the spring
Current speed limits for Canada’s oil-carrying freight trains may be too high to prevent serious accidents and should be reevaluated, the Transportation Safety Board said Thursday as it released the findings of its investigation into a fiery 2015 derailment in northern Ontario.
The TSB said its review of the incident that dumped 1.7 million litres of crude oil into the local ecosystem has raised concerns about the existing Transport Canada rules, particularly as they apply to older train cars that are expected to continue carrying oil and other potentially dangerous goods for years to come.
The February 2015 derailment in a remote, wooded area near Gogama, Ont., about 80 kilometres south of Timmins, Ont., sent 29 cars hurtling off the tracks.
No one was injured, but the TSB said the crash breached 19 cars, causing the massive oil spill and igniting fires that burned for five days.
At a press conference in Sudbury, Ont., on Thursday the board said the derailment was caused when two joint bars used to connect pieces of rail failed.
The TSB attributed the failure in part to poor maintenance practices, but said speed also played a role.
TSB Chair Kathy Fox said the train was travelling at 61 kilometres an hour at the time of the derailment, three kilometres below the 64-km/h maximum set for that stretch of track.
“The TSB is concerned that and that’s when working people would begin to see the benefits of trade deals, which are currently the source of discontent across Europe and within the Trump administration.
Earlier, Trudeau showed the EU some much needed love in his highly-anticipated speech to the European Parliament, the day after it ratified CETA. But he also warned that if it doesn’t succeed, it could be the last deal of its kind.
“The European Union is a truly remarkable achievement, and an unprecedented model for peaceful co-operation. Canada knows that an effective European voice on the global stage isn’t just preferable — it’s essential,” Trudeau said in the first address by a Canadian prime minister to the European Parliament.
“If we are successful, CETA will become the blueprint for all ambitious, future trade deals. If we are not, this could well be one of the last.”
It has been a rough year for the EU with Britain’s decision last summer to leave the bloc. Trump has praised the so-called Brexit, which has sparked the historic and protracted divorce negotiation between Britain and the EU, and has mused about which country might be next. currently permitted speeds are too high for key trains transporting Class 3 flammable liquids,” Fox said.
“We are recommending that Transport Canada study all factors that increase the severity of derailments involving dangerous goods, including speed, that Transport Canada develop mitigating strategies, and then amend the rules accordingly.”
Transport Canada currently allows freight trains carrying dangerous goods to travel at a maximum speed of 80 km/h everywhere, and at a maximum of 64 km/h through densely populated areas and where dangerous goods are being transported in older tank cars in higher-risk
Trump’s ambassador designate to the EU, Ted Malloch, told the Associated Press earlier this week that the EU’s “blatant anti-Americanism” is “problematic.”
Anti-trade groups are vowing to continue the fight against the deal, which they say benefits large corporations at the expense of working people — a reality Trudeau spoke to in his speech.
“Now, we live in a time when many people are worried that the current system only benefits society’s luckiest few. And their concern is valid,” Trudeau said.
“The anxiety people have towards the economy and trade — the worry that our kids won’t have access to the same jobs and opportunities that we had — can be addressed only if we ensure that trade is inclusive, so that everyone benefits.”
The anti-trade movement is gaining ground in Europe and south of the border with Trump’s protectionist “America first” posture that has killed the U.S. free trade negotiations with Europe, as well as the Trans-Pacific Partnership that would have spanned 12 Pacific Rim countries, including Canada.
“Collectively, we believe in democracy, transparency, and the rule of law. We believe in human zones.
Rob Johnston, the TSB’s manager for central regional operations, said the Gogama derailment was reminiscent of the 2013 crash in Lac Megantic, Que., that saw sections of the town burn to the ground.
The tank cars involved in the Gogama derailment featured tougher steel and were built to a higher standard than those involved in the Lac Megantic disaster, he said, but added they still lacked certain key features and were vulnerable to damage at higher speeds.
Johnston said the derailment breached the shells on eight cars, which caused an initial oil spill and started a large “pool fire.” rights. And we believe in inclusion, and in diversity,” Trudeau said.
“We know that, in these times, we must choose to lead the international economy, not simply be subject to its whims.”
Anti-trade groups vowed to do everything possible to rally opposition in regional parliaments to eventually block the full implementation of the pact, which will knock down tariffs for 35 million Canadians and 500 million Europeans.
“Populism has taken hold everywhere. Mr. Trump is the biggest example of that and so it’s another vision of our future,” said former Quebec premier Jean Charest, one of CETA’s early proponents who came to Strasbourg for Wednesday’s ratification.
“This vote is very significant for those of us who believe the world is a better place if we actually work together. It sounds simple but you know what, this is what is at stake.”
Parliament is expected to ratify CETA in the coming months, which means 90 per cent of it would come into force under provisional application. That would allow the deal to take effect without the ratification of the European Union’s 28 member countries and numerous regional governments.
More oil spilled when seven cars lying in the fire sustained “thermal tears,” he added. Johnston did not describe exactly how the other four breached cars were damaged.
The federal government has announced tougher standards for tank cars carrying crude oil and accelerated the process of removing potentially unsafe cars from the tracks, but Fox said the type involved in the Gogama crash will still be in use until 2025.
While she said speed is a key factor, she said the board is urging Transport Canada to study all variables including the type of product on board and how it’s distributed within the train. Const. Nicole Rodgers, Barrie police
Growing up, the man had stored money around the house, Rodgers said, and it was a practice he continued throughout his life.
“They didn’t use a lot of institutions or banks,” she said. “He had put it in a really safe place and that place was inside the TV.”
The man told detectives the money came from an inheritance given to him by his parents, Rogers said. But after forgetting about the cash, he gave the television that held the stash to a friend a few years ago, Rodgers said.
About a year ago, that friend recycled the television, which ended up at the Global Electric Electronic Processing, a recycling plant in Barrie.
Last month, an employee at the depot began taking apart the TV and came across the box and the banking documents, according to police. The employee then took the goods to her supervisor, who called police.
Rodgers said the company didn’t have to call police — by law the television was given to them and became their property.
“It’s commendable what the employee and the company did,” she said. “They just said ‘this isn’t about this being ours, it has to mean something to someone.’ ”
Police discovered that the banking documents dated to 1985, Rodgers said, along with contact information. And since the man hadn’t moved in more than three decades, they found him quickly.
Police also asked the RCMP to see if the money was counterfeit or linked to a crime. The cash came back clean, Rodgers said. So they began talking to the 68-yearold man.
“You don’t call them up and say hey, ‘we have some money,’ ” Rodgers said. “We had detectives go out and speak to them in person.”
Police discovered that the man was a business owner, discovered when his parents retired and spent a month investigating the situation.
Rodgers said the man and his family were “ecstatic” when the cash was returned.
You don’t call them up and say hey, ‘we have some money.’ We had detectives go out and speak to them in person.”