Railways told to list dangerous cargo
Transport minister orders information be shared with cities
Transport Minister Lisa Raitt is ordering railway companies to share information with cities about dangerous goods going through their neighbourhoods.
Flanked by representatives from the Federation of Canadian Municipalities, Raitt said her new order would require Class 1 railway companies — the largest railways in the country — to provide yearly information, divided by quarter, on the nature and volume of any dangerous goods transported by rail.
It would also require the companies to notify municipalities, as soon as possible, about any significant changes to the information.
The smaller railways would also be required to provide annual information and important updates, without necessarily providing quarterly breakdowns.
The new order follows through on key concerns raised by cities following last summer’s Lac-Mégantic runaway train disaster that killed dozens of people in the small Quebec town in a fiery explosion that destroyed buildings and spilled millions of litres of oil into the environment.
Raitt, who took over the transport portfolio in Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s cabinet in July following the Lac-Mégantic tragedy, said the measures would help first responders deal with emergency situations.
“Rail companies do provide information to municipalities but it’s not grounded in regulation and there’s no penalties should the provision of information not happen,” Raitt said. “That was the big ask that the municipalities had. I was in Lac-Mégantic very soon after I became minister and I met with the mayors as well about a week later and that was what they wanted.”
She said the government is still working on other issues related to the prevention of serious accidents, including long-standing safety concerns about the tanker cars, involved in the Quebec disaster.
“The tank car issue is being discussed between ourselves and the United States because it’s a North American issue, for several years … we’re working hard on it,” Raitt said.
Brad Woodside, the mayor of Fredericton and a vicepresident of the federation, praised Raitt for taking action and pushing industry to accept the order.
“She played a leadership role,” said Woodside. “She’s been on the ground right from the very beginning.”
The Railway Industry Association of Canada, an industry lobby group, said it supported the new measures, while noting that part of the problem in the past was related to confusion within cities and their fire departments or emergency services.