Good afternoon. Thank you, Mr. Chair, for the opportunity to appear before the committee today.

My name is Chad McPherson, and I represent the legislative position of the Teamsters Rail Conference Canada in our local division 510 of Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, which also encompasses Regina, Saskatchewan. I work as a locomotive engineer for CP Rail and have been employed with the company for nearly 27 years. Today I would like to discuss some important issues that are affecting rail safety in our area.

As mentioned previously, blocking public crossings at grade is a continual issue that requires a resolve. With today’s rail carriers building trains well beyond 12,000 feet—I did some quick math, and that is approximately 3.6 kilometres—it is nearly impossible to stop a train without occupying a crossing at grade. A typical example of multiple blocked crossings happens in Regina, Saskatchewan, where a train at approximately 9,600 feet, or 2.9 kilometres, is required to stop and line manual switches. While doing this, the train is occupying 11 crossings. This is from Winnipeg Street and Ring Road all the way down to downtown Regina. Many of these crossings are major roadways with high vehicular traffic volumes. There's also a school playground with a pedestrian crossing in the area that is blocked for a significant amount of time while this process happens. The current practice that I see here in Moose Jaw is having a 10,000-foot train—3.4 kilometres—reduce its traffic from the tail end of the train, which is a slow and arduous task and results in public crossings being blocked in excess of 60 minutes at any given time.

A vital component of rail safety is emergency response procedures. Greater attention and stricter regulatory procedures are needed for rail carrier compliance. As it now stands, an emergency response plan is in place for individual areas within the southern Saskatchewan area. These procedures are often simply re-signed from the previous year, with little attention given to mock drills or practices to prepare employees and the public for an emergent situation that may involve evacuation.

This lack of practice was evident in a recent side-swipe in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, in which dangerous commodities and special dangerous commodities were being carried on a train that was struck by another train's movement. No activation of an emergency tone was initiated, and several other inactions were observed as a result. The incident also included a personal injury that occurred because of ineffective communications.

Another issue that affects rail safety in the Regina/Moose Jaw area exists with the training of new conductors. In the past, it has been felt by the unionized employees that the rail carrier’s priority was having additional manpower available rather than ensuring that these conductors were capable and qualified to perform the tasks required. In recent past, new hire employees were qualified simply through a phone call or through as little as applying a handbrake to a railcar and lining a hand-operated switch.

The duties of a conductor are vast, and I believe a more involved approach must be taken in the qualifying portion of conductor training. Advancing forward with this initiative would be a stricter regulation on minimum qualification standards. Currently, railway employee standard regulations require recertification at a minimum of every three years. I believe there is room for rail carriers to create, in conjunction with regulatory bodies and unionized representatives, practices that allow for better familiarization with rules and procedures.

Finally, I hope to find answers to some common questions regarding the duty and rest period rules for railway operating employees. There have been some significant changes in the existing work/rest rules, and some interpretation on how these changes will apply as the duty and rest period rules come in effect. Fatigue in the railway is an ongoing concern to railway employees. Although the TCRC has negotiated some great improvements to work/life conditions for employees, it is felt that greater improvements can be made through regulations. Today I hope to find some answers and to encourage some communication on the topic.

Thank you for your time.

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