By CKPG Today

Rail safety

MP questions Transport Minister on rail safety

Mar 26, 2021 | 10:44 AM

SMITHERS —Skeena-Bulkley Valley NDP MP Taylor Bachrach is calling on the federal government to initiate a regional risk assessment for Northwest B.C. on rail safety.

Bachrach made the request during Parliamentary hearings at the Transportation Committee Thursday, though he says Transportation Minister Marc Garneau refused to commit to the request.

The hearings came following concerns raised by both the Auditor General and Environment Commissioner regarding the federal government’s regulation of rail safety.

“I’ve heard concerns from communities right across the region when it comes to increased rail traffic and the movement of dangerous goods,” said Bachrach. “Their expectation is that the government will do everything necessary to safeguard communities and rail workers, but the recent assessments from the Auditor General and Environment Commissioner raise serious concerns.”

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He says the Auditor General’s recent audit of Transport Canada’s rail safety regulations concluded that eight years after a previous audit, safety recommendations had still not been fully addressed.

Last October, the Environment Commissioner told the press that “the window for a recurrence of a Lac-Mégantic-type disaster is still open.”