Rail safety efforts increasing: Raitt
Loose rules blamed for Megantic crash
Transport Minister Lisa Raitt says the federal government is pursuing efforts to improve rail safety following the latest disaster involving a train carrying dangerous goods.
“We were very relieved this weekend to learn there were no injuries involved in this incident,” Raitt told the House of Commons Monday in response to questions from NDP transport critic Olivia Chow.
The CN derailment in Gainford, Alta., about 85 kilometres west of Edmonton, of train cars carrying liquefied petroleum and crude oil is the third high-profile railway accident in recent weeks.
It also follows the LacMegantic, Que., runaway train disaster in July that killed dozens of residents and destroyed several buildings in a fiery explosion.
Within the past month, residents from the northwestern Alberta community of Sexsmith were forced from their homes when four CN cars carrying anhydrous ammonia derailed on Oct. 16, and seven CN cars — includ- ing some carrying petroleum — derailed about 130 kilometres west of Saskatoon on Sept. 25.
Raitt’s comments also coincide with a new report to be released Tuesday by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives that blames deregulation and poor corporate oversight for weakening rail safety in the years leading up to the Quebec disaster.
The report, by the centre’s executive director Bruce Campbell, says the deregulation started 30 years ago under the previous Liberal government in the face of pressure from industry, and that it culminated with a 2012 order from Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet that favoured self-regulation by industry and would require federal departments to eliminate one regulation in order to introduce any new rule.
Campbell noted in the report that an industry lobby group, the Railway Association of Canada, had also previously reported that it was lobbying government officials “to assure them that current regulations for dangerous goods transportation are sufficient.”
But it later removed this language from its lobbying reports to the government following the Lac-Megantic accident.
Raitt noted that the federal government has introduced numerous emergency safety measures in the wake of the Lac-Megantic disaster in the small Quebec town, on top of $100 million in rail safety investments in recent years.
Chow said the government isn’t working fast enough to protect public safety.
“Canadians deserve better rail safety,” Chow said. “When will this minister act and prevent future derailments and keep our neighbourhoods safe?”