Lac-Mégantic (6)

Asleep at the safety switch

Lac-Mégantic was the site of a disastrous train wreck that resulted in the death of 47 people in July 2013.

Who is responsible for those deaths, and the lack of enforcement of the regulations for safety on Canada’s railroads?

The report released by the Transportation Safety Board on August 19, 2014 shows that Canada can have good regulations on the books, but runaway train wrecks can happen when those regulations are not enforced. MMA seems to be one of those corporations which put private profit ahead of public safety, according to what we have learned in the past year.

Enforcement of “the rules” is the responsibility of the Minister of Transport, Lisa Raitt. Has she accepted this responsibility? Yesterday Lisa Raitt said that, “The companies are expected to follow the rules.“

As the Toronto Star says in its editorial, “Somehow Transport Canada let MMA operate trains carrying dangerous cargo with a single crew member, in older tankers, over a shoddy track. The question is, why?“

The full editorial, called, “Asleep at the safety switch” is at: http://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2014/08/19/regulators_share_blame_for_failing_to_protect_lacmgantic_from_disaster_editorial.html

Let’s hope that some investigative journalists delve into the question of whether Transport Canada has sufficient resources, and support from the Minister of Transport, to enforce the regulations for safety on the railways of Canada.

 

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