SoVote

Context: House Hansard - 222 - Sep/21/23

Mr. Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby, NDP)

Sep/21/23 11:05:49 a.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-33

Madam Speaker, the speech of my colleague, the member for Skeena—Bulkley Valley, was terrific, profound and deep. He is an extremely effective advocate for the people of northwest British Columbia. He has been an outspoken advocate for transportation safety and affordability, and also ensuring that jobs in ports, for example Prince Rupert Port Authority, go to local communities. He has been extraordinarily good at all those things. The member mentioned the issue of safety management systems, which we termed, when the NDP fought against this initiative, as “self-serve safety”. This was an initiative of the Harper regime and one of the many examples of that regime ripping apart the protective net for Canadians, eliminating inspections that should be the responsibility of the federal government and handing them over to corporate CEOs. We have seen the tragic results, the dozens of deaths. Some of the worst rail accidents in Canadian history have happened since the Harper regime ripped apart that protection of regular inspections from federal authorities. Tragically, the Liberal government has done nothing to put those safety systems and inspections, which are so important for public safety, back into place. What do we need to do to restore that confidence in rail safety and ensure that the federal government provides the effective oversight so our rail systems are safe?

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Context: House Hansard - 222 - Sep/21/23

Mr. Taylor Bachrach

Sep/21/23 11:07:37 a.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-33

Madam Speaker, the member for New Westminster—Burnaby is right. The actions of the Harper government to essentially move to this form of self-regulation caused some real challenges. It probably has contributed in a big way to many of the railway accidents and disasters that we have seen across the country. We need to ensure that the federal regulator has the tools required to provide oversight for these multi-billion dollar corporations that are operating our railways. There is a heap of evidence that they do not currently. They are relying on a form of self-regulation, and they do not have the capacity, the boots on the ground. They do not have the regulatory framework to properly enforce safety rules and protect communities and workers. We need to do that. Safety management systems are fine as a complementary measure, but right now they are doing the entire job and they are not doing it well. We need tough rules, with proper enforcement and proper inspections. In many ways, we need to get back to basics where the federal government actually provides oversight and works on behalf of citizens instead of corporations.

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Context: House Hansard - 222 - Sep/21/23

Hon. Dominic LeBlanc (Minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Intergovernmental Affairs, Lib.)

Sep/21/23 2:53:59 p.m.
Watch

Mr. Speaker, just because our colleague on the other side repeats the same silly phrase does not make it true. Our government has never been asleep when it comes to community safety, when it comes to investing in police services, border security and undoing some of the cuts of the Harper government to our border services particularly to keep guns and drugs out of Canadian streets. Our government is committed to doing everything necessary for the safety of Canadians, including having a robust and strong correctional system.

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Context: House Hansard - 222 - Sep/21/23

Mr. Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby, NDP)

Sep/21/23 3:35:31 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-33

Madam Speaker, I thank my colleague for her comments. This is extremely important. Under the Harper government, rail safety regulations and inspections all became a thing of the past. They were replaced by a self-management system, which put company directors in charge of managing rail safety. Since that time, the number of deaths has grown, and several tragic, horrifying accidents have happened. Unfortunately, the Liberal government has done nothing to correct this irresponsible move by the Harper government. I would like my colleague to tell us how important it is to reinstate rail safety inspections with federal government oversight to improve rail safety.

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Context: House Hansard - 222 - Sep/21/23

Mr. Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby, NDP)

Sep/21/23 3:48:57 p.m.
Watch
Re: Bill C-33

Madam Speaker, I welcome my colleague back to the House, as we are all back to do work for the people. One thing he did not mention in his speech was what the Harper regime did in devastating railway safety. Members may recall that what the Harper regime did was it simply eliminated the kind of inspection regime that is so important to guarantee railway safety by replacing it with self-servicing safety management systems that are run by corporate CEOs themselves. That resulted in, which we are all aware of, some of the most disastrous accidents. The most tragic losses of life over the last few years have come as a result, in part, by moving away from inspections and the shift to self-managed safety with the safety management systems. We see, in this bill, no real reflection of what is needed to ensure that we rebuild those safety systems and federal inspections. Does my colleague agree with me that the Harper regime made a mistake in self-managed safety? Does he agree with me and the transport committee that we need to re-enhance railway safety, which is something the bill does not do?

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