Transport Canada falling behind safety regulations
Report finds lengthy delays, deferring to U.S. counterpart to introduce changes first
OTTAWA— Transport Canada’s slowfooted response to vehicle safety is putting the lives of Canadians at risk, a new report warns.
In a world of fast-moving technology, federal regulators are getting left at the roadside, hampered by poor planning, budget cuts and a reactive approach, according to a damning audit of Transport Canada’s oversight of the safety of passenger vehicles.
While travel by road is safer than ever — fatalities and injuries in 2014 were at their lowest level since tracking began in the early 1970s — Transport Canada could be doing a much better job in ensuring the safety of passenger vehicles, the federal auditor general’s report says.
“Technology is evolving faster than the regulations and standards designed to protect Canadians,” says the report, released Tuesday.
“Transport Canada did not develop motor vehicle safety standards to respond to emerging risks and issues in a timely manner,” it says.
The audit flags concerns on a number of fronts, including inadequate research to back changes, incomplete collision database and no longterm strategy or funding for motor vehicle safety.
For example, Transport Canada has jumped on the U.S. move to make back-up cameras mandatory, even though it has limited data to show there are any safety benefits, the report found.
But the report also flags federal foot-dragging, highlighting lengthy delays — sometimes as long as 10 years — from the time Transport Canada began work on an issue to when regulatory changes are finally introduced.
“Transport Canada did not maintain an up-to-date regulatory framework for passenger vehicle safety,” it said. A five-year review of changes to the regulations found that Transport Canada waited too often for its American counterpart to introduce safety changes first before taking action here.
By taking their cue from the Americans, the audit suggests that regulators have been slow to implement changes that could improve the safety of Canadian vehicles, auditors concluded.
“This reactive approach created significant delays in implementing new standards and meant that some passenger vehicles were not equipped with the newest safety features available in other countries.”