Canadian railway inspectors have been handed new powers by Ottawa to deal with security issues in the face of growing incidents of sabotage.
“There has been a disturbing trend of increased levels of security incidents related to Canada’s rail infrastructure in recent years,” Department of Transportation staff wrote in a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement, as first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter.
“The number of incidents related to trespassing, sabotage, tampering, vandalism, interference with rail operations and suspicious activities is of concern.”
The ministry didn’t disclose the number of incidents that have occurred in recent years, but said it is concerned about sabotage.
To deal with those concerns, the federal government has amended the Rail Transportation Safety Regulations to allow inspectors to hand out fines to corporations of up to $250,000 for high-level risk violations. Fines of up to $125,000 can be levied against corporations for medium-level risk violations and up to $25,000 can be charged for low-level risk violations.
Fines against individuals will range from $50,000 for high-level risk violations to $5,000 for low-level risks.
Inspectors were previously limited to referring incidents to local authorities and Crown prosecutors.
The regulations are expected to “contribute to a strengthened rail security regime” and assist in Ottawa’s efforts to deal with increasing unlawful conduct without burdening the criminal court system, the report said.
The number of rail security incidents reported in 2020 more than doubled those reported in 2019, according to the Department of Transportation report.
“Incidents reported in 2021 and 2022 show the upward trend is continuing,” the statement said. “While there have not been fatalities linked to these events, the incidents could create safety risks.”
Railways carry more than six million shipments of dangerous goods each year, according to transport staff estimates.
“Securing the rail system in Canada is a difficult yet vital task,” the analysis said. “It is critical that the government take measures.”
Cases of rail sabotage don’t happen often, but terrorist attempts are occasionally made.
On June 5, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld life sentences for one of the two men found guilty of terrorism charges in a plot to derail a passenger train between Canada and the United States. The two men were found guilty of terrorism charges for their unsuccessful 2013 conspiracy to bomb a VIA Rail line.
The large number of rail lines in the country can make security a challenge. According to the Canadian Association of Railway Suppliers (CARS), there are 49,422 kilometres of tracks across Canada.
The rail transport system generates roughly $10 billion annually with 95 percent of revenues coming from rail freight operations, according to CARS statistics. The remaining 5 percent comes from commuter, intercity, and tourist passenger rail services.
