Holding companies accountable for the safety of their railways
OTTAWA, March 14, 2014 /CNW/ - The Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, is proposing new regulations to enhance railway safety oversight in Canada.
Under the proposed regulations, companies will be required to hold a valid Railway Operating Certificate in order to operate on federally regulated railways in Canada. Railways are required to meet essential safety standards, and Railway Operating Certificates will serve as another tool to ensure they maintain the highest level of safety. If a serious safety violation is identified, Transport Canada could put an immediate stop to a company's operations by suspending or cancelling a company's certificate.
The proposed regulations will be published in Canada Gazette, Part I, on March 15, 2014. Stakeholders and the public have 30 days to provide comments, which will be considered before the regulations are finalized and published in Canada Gazette, Part II.
Quick Facts
- All federally regulated railway companies and local railway companies operating on federally regulated railways will be required to hold a Railway Operating Certificate.
- Existing companies will have two years to obtain a Railway Operating Certificate. New companies must obtain a certificate before they start operating.
Quote
"Railway Operating Certificates represent an important addition to the department's railway oversight program. The proposed changes are yet another example of how the Government of Canada continues to place safety at the forefront of its priorities."
The Honourable Lisa Raitt
Minister of Transport
Related Products
- Canada Gazette, Part I
- Proposed Railway Operating Certificate Regulations – Monitoring railways to ensure they meet basic safety requirements
Associated Links
Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca. Subscribe to e-news or stay connected through RSS, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Flickr to keep up to date on the latest from Transport Canada.
This news release may be made available in alternative formats for persons living with visual disabilities.
Backgrounder
Proposed Railway Operating Certificate Regulations
Monitoring railways to ensure they meet basic safety requirements
Transport Canada has a robust railway safety program in place and continuously looks for ways to make the railway system safer. Based on recommendations from the Railway Safety Act review, changes were made to the Railway Safety Act that enable the department to further enhance its oversight of railway safety.
The amended Railway Safety Act, which came into effect on May 1, 2013, gives Transport Canada new regulation-making powers. The proposed Railway Operating Certificate Regulations mark a significant milestone in Transport Canada's accelerated regulatory development activities.
Railway safety oversight
Transport Canada's oversight program includes monitoring companies to ensure they follow the rules, regulations and engineering standards in place. The department also ensures the overall safety of railway operations through audits and inspections.
Companies are responsible for the safety of their railway infrastructure, equipment and operations. This includes ongoing inspections, testing and maintenance programs in accordance with regulatory requirements, as well as any particular operating and environmental conditions.
Transport Canada is committed to enforcing regulatory requirements and responding to safety issues and threats in a fair, objective and consistent manner. Several factors are considered when deciding on the appropriate enforcement or corrective action for any given situation, including the nature and seriousness of the issue (e.g. the resulting harm or potential harm to life, health, property and the environment).
Should an issue of non-compliance be found, Transport Canada does not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action. Examples of existing enforcement and compliance tools under the Railway Safety Act include:
- Notices
- Notices and Orders
- Ministerial Orders
- Emergency Directives
- Prosecutions under Section 41 of the Railway Safety Act
- Orders of the Court
Oversight under the proposed regulations
Once the proposed regulations come into effect, companies will be required to hold a valid Railway Operating Certificate in order to operate in Canada. If a company is found to have widespread safety problems or chronic issues of non-compliance resulting from a lack of human or financial resources to operate at the highest level of safety, Transport Canada could suspend or cancel the company's operating certificate. This could put an immediate stop to the company's railway operations in Canada.
Although suspending or cancelling a Railway Operating Certificate would be a remedy of last resort, the regulations provide Transport Canada with the power to shut down unsafe operations when other compliance-related approaches fail.
SOURCE: Transport Canada
Ashley Kelahear, Director of Communications, Office of the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport, Ottawa, 613-991-0700; Media Relations, Transport Canada, Ottawa, 613-993-0055
Share this article