Railway Safety Act (R.S.C., 1985, c. 32 (4th Supp.))

Marginal note:Railway safety inspectors — use of information

• 17.93 (1) A railway safety inspector may use the information that a company records, collects or preserves under subsection 17.31(1) for the purposes of

  • (a) determining the causes and contributing factors of an accident or incident that must be reported under the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act to the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board and that the Board does not investigate; and

  • (b) verifying compliance with section 17.31 and regulations made under section 17.95.

• Marginal note:Use — threat to safety of railway operations

  (2) If a railway safety inspector uses information under paragraph (1)(a), they may also use that information to address a threat to the safety of railway operations.

Marginal note:Recorded information admissible

• 17.94 (1) The information recorded under subsection 17.31(1) using the recording instruments with which the railway equipment is fitted is admissible in any proceedings for a violation or offence, with respect to the contravention of section 17.31 or the regulations made under section 17.95, against the company that operates the railway equipment.

• Marginal note:Recorded information not admissible

  (2) The information recorded under subsection 17.31(1) using the recording instruments with which the railway equipment is fitted is not admissible in any proceedings for a violation or offence under this Act — other than for a violation or offence with respect to the contravention of subsection 17.31(3) — against an individual who is on board the railway equipment at the time of the recording or an individual who communicates with that individual at that time.

• Marginal note:Information used under subsections 17.91(3), 17.92(3) and 17.93(2) admissible

  (3) Subject to subsection (2), the information used under subsections 17.91(3), 17.92(3) and 17.93(2) is admissible in any proceedings that may result from that use.

Marginal note:Regulations

• 17.95 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) prescribing criteria for the purposes of subsection 17.31(1);

  • (b) respecting the exemption of any company that meets the criteria referred to in paragraph (a) from the application of subsection 17.31(1);

  • (c) respecting the recording instruments with which the railway equipment is to be fitted, including their specifications, installation and maintenance;

  • (d) respecting the information that companies record using those instruments, including the recording of that information, its collection, its preservation, its destruction, its use, its communication — including on request by the Minister — its selection and access to it; and

  • (e) prescribing threats to the safety of railway operations for the purpose of subsection 17.91(3).

• Marginal note:Application

  (2) A regulation made under this section may be general or applicable to a group or class of companies.

Marginal note:For greater certainty

17.96 For greater certainty, subject to any use or communication that is expressly authorized under any of sections 17.91 to 17.94, subsection 28(1.1) or 36(2) or regulations made under section 17.95, the information that a company records, collects or preserves under subsection 17.31(1) and that is an on-board recording, as defined in subsection 28(1) of the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act, remains privileged under subsection 28(2) of that Act.

Regulations

Marginal note:Regulations

• 18 (1) The Governor in Council may make regulations

  • (a) respecting the operation or maintenance of line works, and the design, construction, alteration, operation and maintenance of railway equipment, which regulations may embrace, among other things, performance standards;

  • (b) declaring positions in railway companies to be critical to safe railway operations;

  • (c) respecting the following matters, to the extent that they relate to safe railway operations, in relation to persons employed in positions referred to in paragraph (b):

    • (i) the training of those persons, both before and after appointment to those positions,

    • (ii) hours of work and rest periods to be observed by those persons,

    • (iii) minimum medical, including audiometric and optometric, standards to be met by those persons,

    • (iv) the control or prohibition of the consumption of alcoholic beverages and the use of drugs by those persons,

    • (v) the establishment of support programs for those persons and standards applicable to such programs, and

    • (vi) the establishment of a scheme for licensing those persons; and

  • (d) respecting the prevention and control of fires on railway works.

• Marginal note:Regulations — crossing works

  (2) The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting crossing works, including regulations for requiring a railway company, road authority or other person who has rights relating to a road crossing to conduct a safety review of the road crossing following an accident of a type specified in the regulations.

• Marginal note:Regulations — security

  (2.1) The Governor in Council may make regulations respecting the security of railway transportation.

• Marginal note:Application

  (2.2) A regulation made under this section may be general or applicable to a group or class of persons or companies.

• Marginal note:Regulations to override rules

  (3) If the Governor in Council at any time makes regulations respecting a matter referred to in subsection (1) or (2.1) that are inconsistent with rules approved in relation to a particular company by the Minister under section 19 or 20 in respect of that matter, those rules are at that time revoked to the extent of the inconsistency.

Rules

Marginal note:Formulation or revision of rules

• 19 (1) The Minister may, by order, require a company

  • (a) to formulate rules respecting any matter referred to in subsection 18(1) or (2.1) or to revise its rules respecting that matter; and

  • (b) within a specified period, to file the formulated or revised rules with the Minister for approval.

• Marginal note:Company to consult

  (2) A company shall not file rules with the Minister under subsection (1) unless it has first, during a period of sixty days, given a reasonable opportunity for consultation with it on the rules to

  • (a) in the case of a railway company, each relevant association or organization that is likely to be affected by the implementation of the rules; or

  • (b) in the case of a local railway company, any railway company on whose railway the local railway company operates railway equipment and that is likely to be affected by the implementation of the rules.

• Marginal note:Notice to accompany rules

  (3) When rules are filed with the Minister by a company pursuant to an order under subsection (1), the company shall, by notice filed with those rules, identify each association or organization or any railway company that was consulted and attach a copy of any objection that is made by any of them on grounds of safety.

• Marginal note:Consideration of rules

  (4) After rules are filed with the Minister by a company pursuant to an order under subsection (1), the Minister shall consider, without delay, whether, in the Minister’s opinion and after having regard to current railway practice, to the views of the company and the views of each relevant association or organization or any railway company identified under subsection (3) and to any other factor that the Minister considers relevant, those rules are conducive to safe railway operations by the company, and shall, before the expiration of the assessment period in relation to those rules,

  • (a) if the Minister is so satisfied, notify the company and each association or organization or any railway company identified under subsection (3) that the Minister approves those rules, either absolutely or on any terms and conditions that are specified in the notice; or

  • (b) if the Minister is not so satisfied, notify the company and each association or organization or any railway company identified under subsection (3) that the Minister refuses to approve those rules and of the reasons why the Minister is not so satisfied.

• Marginal note:Request for amendment to terms and conditions

  (4.1) A company referred to in subsection (4) may, on the basis of new information about the safety of railway operations, request the Minister to amend the terms and conditions specified under paragraph (4)(a), and shall send a copy of the request to

  • (a) in the case of a railway company, each relevant association or organization that is likely to be affected by the amendment to the terms and conditions; or

  • (b) in the case of a local railway company, any railway company on whose railway the local railway company operates railway equipment and that is likely to be affected by the amendment to the terms and conditions.

• Marginal note:Amendments

  (4.2) After receiving a request from a company under subsection (4.1), the Minister may amend the terms and conditions and, in that case, shall provide a copy of the amendments to each relevant association or organization, or any railway company, referred to in subsection (4.1).

• Marginal note:Minister may seek advice

  (5) The Minister may, in deciding whether to approve rules filed by a company, engage any person or organization having expertise in matters relating to safe railway operations to furnish advice in relation to the matter.

• Marginal note:Effective date of rules

  (5.1) Rules approved by the Minister under subsection (4) come into force on a day specified by the Minister, but if they replace any regulations, they may not come into force earlier than the day on which the regulations are repealed.

• Marginal note:Revision of rules

  (6) If the Minister notifies a company that the Minister refuses to approve rules filed by the company in respect of a matter pursuant to an order under subsection (1),

  • (a) the company may, unless the Minister indicates in that notice an intention to establish rules in respect of that matter under subsection (7), formulate and file with the Minister further rules as if the order made pursuant to subsection (1) had been made on the date of receipt by the company of the notice of refusal; and

  • (b) the provisions of this section apply in relation to those further rules, with any modifications that the circumstances require.

• Marginal note:Failure to file rules

  (7) If, in respect of a matter, a company fails to file rules pursuant to an order under subsection (1), or a company files rules pursuant to an order under subsection (1) but the Minister refuses to approve those rules, the Minister may, by order, establish rules in respect of that matter.

• Marginal note:Consultation

  (8) The Minister may not, under this section, establish rules applying to a company unless the Minister

  • (a) has given, during a period of sixty days, a reasonable opportunity for consultation with the Minister on the rules to that company and

    • (i) in the case of a railway company, to each relevant association or organization that is likely to be affected by the implementation of the rules, and

    • (ii) in the case of a local railway company, to any railway company on whose railway the local railway company operates railway equipment and that is likely to be affected by the implementation of the rules; and

  • (b) has considered any objection, on grounds of safety, to the establishment of the rules that is made in the course of that consultation.

• Marginal note:Rules established by Minister

  (9) Rules established by the Minister under subsection (7) in relation to a company have the same effect as if they had been formulated by the company and approved by the Minister under subsection (4).

• Definition of assessment period

  (10) Subject to subsection (11), in this section, assessment period, in relation to rules filed with the Minister under this section, means

  • (a) the period of sixty days commencing on the day after the day on which the rules are filed; or

  • (b) if, before the expiration of that period of sixty days, the Minister determines that, by reason of the complexity of the rules or the number of rules filed or for any other reason, it will not be feasible to consider the rules within that period, and so notifies the company concerned, any greater period that the Minister specifies in the notice.

• Marginal note:Period of inquiry not part of assessment period

  (11) If, pursuant to section 40, the Minister directs persons to conduct an inquiry respecting proposed rules, the period commencing on the day when the Minister so directs and ending on the day when the persons report back to the Minister pursuant to section 40 shall be disregarded in computing the assessment period.