RAIL SAFETY (Lack Of) AFFECTS US ALL

Well apparently Canadian National and Canadian Pacific are special. They get to request exemptions from the Railway Safety Act at will. Their will, their money saved and our lives and health imperilled. What a great time to be big business and Conservative all together. This posting today comes from a CBC on-line news report from a few days ago.

Transport Canada while now admitting that they have granted inspection and other safety exemptions to CN and CP are flatly refusing to tell the public any details. CBC news has learned of three specific exemptions which include another extension to a time deadline to put reflective strips on the sides of rail cars. This is due to nighttime collisions at unlit or poorly marked intersections. Secondly trains are allowed to travel through the city of Winnipeg without brake tests and finally CP received an exemption to so called mandatory brake inspections for coal trains in British Columbia.

Apparently union input is requested however to date when the unons have objected to exemptions due to safety reasons they've been ignored. Quoting NDP Transport Critic Olivia Chow, "Transport Cnada is hiding the fact that instead of protecting Canadians, they are obeying orders from the rail giants and cutting safety inspection and granting exemptions to brake tests,". All of this bodes very badly for future rail disasters and begs the question : Are all our regulatory and safety bodies merely for show and political puffery?