Standing Committee on Public Accounts

Comité permanent des comptes publics

For immediate release

Ottawa, June 17, 2021 -

Transport Canada made important improvements to both its safety oversight planning and inspection follow-up, but it did not assess whether its oversight activities improved rail safety, according to a report by the House of Commons Standing Committee on Public Accounts that was tabled today by Committee Chair Kelly Block.

In February 2021, the Office of the Auditor General of Canada released a follow-up audit whose objective was to determine whether its 2013 audit report recommendations were implemented by Transport Canada. The 2013 report focused on the department’s oversight of the safe transportation of people and goods on federally regulated tracks. In particular, the 2021 report examined the risk-based planning process for rail safety oversight and whether the department confirmed that railway companies corrected deficiencies affecting the safety of their operations.

According to the follow-up audit, Transport Canada did not fully implement all the recommendations from the 2013 report. Although the department made important improvements to both its safety oversight planning and inspection follow-up, it did not assess whether its oversight activities improved rail safety. Also, the department did not measure the effectiveness of the railway companies’ safety management systems or integrate the results of those audits into its rail safety oversight planning.

The tragic rail accidents of Lac-Mégantic, Québec, in 2013, and Field, British Columbia, in 2019, are a reminder of the critical importance of rail safety. Thus, the Committee is making six recommendations to ensure that Transport Canada improves its processes related to rail safety oversight to help prevent other tragedies in Canada.