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House Hansard - 222

44th Parl. 1st Sess.
September 21, 2023 10:00AM
Context: House Hansard - 222 - Sep/21/23
Mr. Peter Julian (New Westminster—Burnaby, NDP)
  • Sep/21/23 3:35:31 p.m.
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  • 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. Simon-Pierre Savard-Tremblay (Saint-Hyacinthe—Bagot, BQ)
  • Sep/21/23 3:37:18 p.m.
  • Watch
  • Re: Bill C-33 
Madam Speaker, as we know, Canada was built on the railway and has since trended toward constant deregulation. That, of course, led to the Lac‑Mégantic disaster. The only thing that has increased since that tragedy is the transportation of oil by train, which has increased dramatically. That is the only thing that has changed since 2013. This bill proposes increased regulation for goods. A few years ago, however, a group of people from Saint‑Hyacinthe launched an initiative in my riding called Convoi‑Citoyen. They ventured onto the tracks and discovered exposed wires and tracks sitting on wet soil instead of cement. Should we not also be addressing inspections of the tracks themselves?
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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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