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

Marginal note:Stay of order

32.3 If a request for review is filed, an order made under subsection 32(1), (3.1) or (3.2) shall be stayed until the matter is finally disposed of in accordance with section 32.1, 32.2 or 32.4. However, an order made under subsection 32(3) or (3.21) or section 32.01 shall not be stayed pending a review under section 32.1, an appeal under section 32.2 or a reconsideration by the Minister under subsection 32.1(5) or 32.2(3).

Marginal note:Reconsideration by Minister

32.4 If a matter is referred back to the Minister under subsection 32.1(5) or 32.2(3), the Minister may confirm the order, or may, by order, alter or revoke the order. For greater certainty, the Minister’s order may be made an order of the Federal Court or of any superior court under section 34.

Marginal note:When alteration or revocation effective

32.5 An alteration or revocation under section 32.4 has effect when the company or other person to whom notice of the order under section 32 was sent receives notice of the alteration or revocation.

Emergency Directives

Marginal note:Minister may send emergency directives

• 33 (1) If the Minister is of the opinion that there is an immediate threat to safe railway operations or the security of railway transportation, the Minister may, by emergency directive sent to a company, order it

  • (a) either absolutely or to the extent specified in the directive, to stop using the kind of railway works or railway equipment or following the maintenance or operating practice that poses the threat; or

  • (b) to follow a maintenance or operating practice specified in the directive if the threat is posed by the company’s failure to follow that practice.

• Marginal note:Directive despite compliance with law

  (1.1) The Minister may issue an emergency directive even though

  • (a) the construction of the railway work was undertaken in accordance with the law in force at the time; and

  • (b) using the railway equipment or following or not following the maintenance or operating practice is in accordance with this Act or any regulations or rules made under it.

• Marginal note:Duration

  (2) An emergency directive has effect during such period, not exceeding six months, as is specified in the directive.

• Marginal note:Emergency directive to contain statement of reasons

  (3) An emergency directive shall contain a statement of the Minister’s reasons for holding the opinion by reason of which the directive was given.

• Marginal note:Minister may rescind emergency directives

  (4) The Minister may, by notice sent to the company, rescind an emergency directive, in which case the directive ceases to have effect.

• Marginal note:Inconsistency between emergency directives, regulations, rules or orders

  (5) In the event that there is an inconsistency between an emergency directive and a regulation made under subsection 18(1) or (2.1) or a rule in force under section 19 or 20, the emergency directive prevails to the extent of the inconsistency.

• Marginal note:Minister may renew emergency directives

  (6) The Minister may, before the expiration of the period during which an emergency directive has effect, by notice sent to the company, renew the directive for a further specified period commencing on the expiration of the previous period and not exceeding six months and, if the Minister does so, this section, except this subsection, applies to the directive as renewed.

Enforcement through Court

Marginal note:Enforcement through court

• 34 (1) An order or emergency directive made by the Minister may be made an order of the Federal Court or of any superior court, and shall be enforced in the same manner as an order of the court.

• Marginal note:Orders of railway safety inspectors

  (2) For the purpose of enabling an order contained in a notice served on a company or person by a railway safety inspector to be enforced as an order of a court under this section, the Minister may, by notice sent to that company or person, confirm that order, and that order after that has effect as an order of the Minister.

• Marginal note:Practice

  (3) To make an order or emergency directive of the Minister an order of a court, the usual practice and procedure of the court in such matters may be followed or, in lieu thereof, the Minister may file with the registrar of the court a certified copy of the order or directive and the order or directive thereupon becomes an order of the court.

• Marginal note:Effect of revocation

  (4) When an order or emergency directive of the Minister that has been made an order of a court pursuant to this section is revoked by a subsequent order or directive of the Minister, the order of the court shall be deemed to have been cancelled.

• Marginal note:Option to enforce

  (5) The Minister may, before or after an order or emergency directive is made an order of a court pursuant to this section, enforce the order or directive by the Minister’s own action.

Medical Information

Marginal note:Medical examination

• 35 (1) A person who holds a position that is declared by regulations made under paragraph 18(1)(b) or by any rule in force under section 19 or 20 to be a position critical to safe railway operations, referred to in this section as a “designated position”, shall undergo a medical examination organized by the railway company concerned, including audio-metric and optometric examination, at intervals determined by the regulations made under subparagraph 18(1)(c)(iii) or by any rule in force under section 19 or 20.

• Marginal note:Physician or optometrist to disclose potentially hazardous conditions

  (2) If a physician or an optometrist believes, on reasonable grounds, that a patient is a person described in subsection (1), the physician or optometrist shall, if in their opinion the patient has a condition that is likely to pose a threat to safe railway operations,

  • (a) by notice sent without delay to a physician or optometrist specified by the railway company, inform the specified physician or optometrist of that opinion and the reasons for it, after the physician or optometrist has taken reasonable steps to first inform the patient, and

  • (b) without delay send a copy of that notice to the patient,

  and the patient is deemed to have consented to the disclosure required by paragraph (a).

• Marginal note:Holder of designated position to inform physician or optometrist

  (3) A person who holds a designated position in a railway company shall, prior to any examination by a physician or optometrist, advise the physician or optometrist that the person is the holder of such a position.

• Marginal note:Railway company may act in interests of safe railway operations

  (4) A railway company may make such use of any information provided pursuant to subsection (2) as it considers necessary in the interests of safe railway operations.

• Marginal note:Proceedings not to lie against physician or optometrist

  (5) No legal, disciplinary or other proceedings lie against a physician or optometrist for anything done by that physician or optometrist in good faith in compliance with this section.

• Marginal note:Information privileged

  (6) Information provided pursuant to subsection (2) is privileged and

  • (a) no person shall be required to disclose it or give evidence relating to it in any legal, disciplinary or other proceedings; and

  • (b) it is not admissible in any such proceedings, except

    • (i) as provided by subsection (4), or

    • (ii) where the patient consents.

Other Information Requirements

Marginal note:Power to require information

• 36 (1) The Minister may order that a company provide, in the specified form and within the specified period, information or documents that he or she considers necessary for the purposes of ensuring compliance with this Act and with the regulations, rules, orders, standards and emergency directives made under this Act.

• Marginal note:Communication authorized

  (2) A company is authorized to communicate to the Minister the information that it recorded, collected or preserved under subsection 17.31(1) and that the Minister orders it to provide under subsection (1), for the purpose of verifying compliance with section 17.31 and regulations made under section 17.95.

Marginal note:Maintenance and production of safety records

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

  • (a) respecting the keeping and preservation by any person of information, records and documents that are relevant to the safety of railway operations, including a complete set of the regulations, emergency directives, rules and orders made under this Act that apply to that person;

  • (a.1) respecting the submission of information, records and documents that are relevant to the safety of railway operations by any person other than the Minister to any person specified in the regulations;

  • (b) respecting the filing with the Minister, including at the Minister’s request, of information, records and documents kept and preserved under regulations made under paragraph (a); and

  • (c) respecting notification to the Minister by companies of information suitable for monitoring safety performance or predicting potential changes in levels of safety, including information about any accident or incident associated with railway safety or any situation that could have a detrimental impact on safety performance.

• Marginal note:Application

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

• Marginal note:Canada Transportation Act

  (3) Information, records and documents that are filed with the Minister as required by a regulation made under paragraph (1)(b) are deemed to be information that is required to be provided to the Minister under the Canada Transportation Act.

Marginal note:False information, etc.

38 No person shall, either orally or in writing, knowingly make a false or misleading statement or knowingly provide false or misleading information to the Minister, to a railway safety inspector or to any other person acting on behalf of the Minister in connection with any matter under this Act.

Security

Marginal note:Screening before boarding

• 39 (1) A screening officer may require a person or any goods to undergo authorized screening before the person or goods come on board railway equipment or enter a restricted area and, if so required,

  • (a) the person shall not board the railway equipment or enter the restricted area unless the person has undergone the authorized screening; and

  • (b) no person shall take the goods, or have them placed, on board the railway equipment or in the restricted area unless the goods have undergone the authorized screening.

• Marginal note:Screening after boarding or in restricted areas

  (2) A screening officer may require a person on board railway equipment or in a restricted area to undergo authorized screening and, if the person refuses,

  • (a) the officer may order the person to leave the railway equipment or restricted area and to remove from it any goods that the person took or had placed there; and

  • (b) the person shall leave the railway equipment or restricted area and remove or permit the removal of the goods immediately or, if the railway equipment is moving, at the first reasonable opportunity.

• Marginal note:Unaccompanied goods

  (3) A screening officer may carry out authorized screening of any goods at a railway work that are intended for transport on railway equipment and are not accompanied by a person, and the officer may use any force that is reasonably necessary to gain access to the goods.

• Marginal note:False or misleading information

  (4) No person shall knowingly make any false or misleading statement to a screening officer, or knowingly provide false or misleading information to a screening officer.

• Marginal note:Operators to post notices

  (5) When authorized screening is required or authorized under this Act on board railway equipment or at a railway work, the railway company that operates the railway equipment or railway work shall post notices stating that

  • (a) authorized screening is being carried out;

  • (b) no person is obliged to undergo authorized screening of their person if they choose not to board the railway equipment or enter a restricted area; and

  • (c) no person is obliged to permit authorized screening of their goods if they choose not to take the goods or have them placed on board the railway equipment or in the restricted area.

• Marginal note:Placement and languages of notices

  (6) The notices must be posted in prominent places where authorized screening is carried out and they must be written in both of the official languages of Canada and may, in addition, be written in any other language.

Marginal note:Minister may formulate security measures

• 39.1 (1) The Minister may formulate measures respecting the security of railway transportation.

• Marginal note:Requirement to carry out measures

  (2) The Minister may, by notice in writing, require or authorize a railway company to carry out any of those security measures.

• Marginal note:Exemption by Minister

  (3) The Minister may, on any terms and conditions that the Minister considers necessary, exempt any railway company or other person from the application of a security measure if, in the opinion of the Minister, the exemption is in the public interest and is not likely to pose a security threat.

Marginal note:Disclosure of security documents

• 39.2 (1) No person shall disclose to any other person the substance of a security document that is labelled as such unless the disclosure is

  • (a) authorized by the Minister;

  • (b) ordered by a court or other body under subsection (3);

  • (c) required by law; or

  • (d) necessary to give effect to the document.

• Marginal note:Court or other body to inform Minister

  (2) If a request is made for the production or discovery of the security document in any proceeding before a court or other body having jurisdiction to compel its production or discovery, the court or other body shall

  • (a) notify the Minister of the request, if the Minister is not a party to the proceeding; and

  • (b) examine the document in a hearing closed to the public and give the Minister a reasonable opportunity to make representations with respect to it.

• Marginal note:Order for production and discovery

  (3) If the court or other body concludes that the public interest in the proper administration of justice outweighs the interests that would be protected by non-disclosure, the court or other body

  • (a) shall order the production and discovery of the security document, subject to any restrictions or conditions that the court or other body considers appropriate; and

  • (b) may require any person to give evidence relating to the document.