Bill C-43
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2nd Session, 35th Parliament, 45 Elizabeth II, 1996-97
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The House of Commons of Canada
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BILL C-43 |
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An Act to amend the Railway Safety Act and
to make a consequential amendment to
another Act
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| R.S., c. 32
(4th Supp.);
1989, c. 3;
1992, cc. 1,
51; 1993, c.
28; 1994, c.
15
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RAILWAY SAFETY ACT |
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1. Section 3 of the Railway Safety Act and
the heading before it are repealed.
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2. (1) The definition ``alter'' in subsection
4(1) of the Act is repealed.
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(2) The definition ``proposing party'' in
subsection 4(1) of the English version of the
Act is repealed.
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(3) The definition ``person'' in subsection
4(1) of the Act is replaced by the following:
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| ``person'' « personne »
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``person'' includes a government of a munici
pality and a road authority;
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(4) Subsection 4(1) of the Act is amended
by adding the following in alphabetical
order:
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| ``authorized
screening'' « contrôle »
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``authorized screening'' means anything au
thorized or required to be done under the
regulations or a security document for the
control, observation, inspection and search
of persons or goods to prevent the unautho
rized possession or carriage of weapons, ex
plosives and incendiaries on railway works
and railway equipment;
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| ``goods'' « biens »
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``goods'' means anything that may be taken or
placed on board railway equipment as
freight, baggage or personal belongings;
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| ``restricted
area'' « zone réglementée »
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``restricted area'' means an area that is estab
lished under the regulations or a security
document and to which access is restricted
to authorized persons;
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| ``road
authority'' « autorité responsable du service de voirie »
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``road authority'' means a public authority
having legal jurisdiction to open and main
tain highways;
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| ``screening
officer'' « agent de contrôle »
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``screening officer'' means a person desig
nated by the Minister under section 27 as a
screening officer for the purposes of this
Act;
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| ``security
document'' « texte relatif à la sûreté »
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``security document'' means any of the fol
lowing documents:
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(5) Subsection 4(1) of the English version
of the Act is amended by adding the
following in alphabetical order:
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| ``proponent'' « promoteur »
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``proponent'', in relation to a railway work,
means the person who proposes, or has pro
posed, the construction or alteration of the
railway work, whether voluntarily or by vir
tue of a requirement imposed by or under
another Act;
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3. Subsections 7(2) and (3) of the Act are
replaced by the following:
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| Railway
company
required to
formulate
standards
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(2) The Minister may, by order, require a
railway company
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| Formulation
or revision of
standards at
initiative of
railway
company
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(2.1) A railway company shall file with the
Minister for approval engineering standards,
including any revisions, governing any matter
referred to in subsection (1) that it proposes to
formulate or revise on its own initiative.
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| Application of
section 19
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(3) Subsections 19(4) to (11) apply in
relation to standards referred to in subsection
(2) or (2.1), with such modifications as the
circumstances require and without regard to
the references to relevant association or
organization.
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4. The Act is amended by adding the
following after section 7:
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Construction of Road Crossings |
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| Regulations
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7.1 The Governor in Council may make
regulations regulating or prohibiting the
construction of road crossings.
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5. Subsections 8(1) and (2) of the Act are
replaced by the following:
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| Notice of
certain
proposed
railway works
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8. (1) If a proposed railway work is of a
prescribed kind, the proponent shall not
undertake the work unless it has first given
notice of the work in accordance with the
regulations. However, it may undertake the
work if all persons to whom the notice was
given file with the proponent a response
indicating that they do not object to the work.
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| Filing of
objections
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(2) A person to whom a notice is given
under subsection (1) may file with the propo
nent an objection to the proposed railway
work if the person considers that the proposed
railway work would prejudice their safety or
the safety of their property. The objection
must include reasons and be filed before the
expiration of the period specified in the notice
for the filing of objections and a copy of it
must be filed immediately with the Minister.
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6. Section 10 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (1):
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| Request for
approval
before end of
notice period
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(1.1) A request to the Minister for approval
of a proposed railway work pursuant to
subsection (1) may be filed before the expiry
of the period specified in the notice given
under subsection 8(1) if all persons to whom
the notice was given have filed a response with
the proponent.
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| Withdrawal of
objection
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(1.2) A proposed railway work described in
paragraph (1)(b) may be undertaken without
the Minister's approval if the outstanding
objection is withdrawn.
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7. Section 11 of the Act is replaced by the
following:
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| Engineering
principles
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11. No person shall construct or alter a
railway work except in accordance with sound
engineering principles.
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8. The Act is amended by adding the
following after section 12:
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| Agreements
for closing
road crossings
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12.1 (1) The Minister may make an agree
ment with a person who has rights under the
Railway Act or otherwise relating to a road
crossing to close the crossing in the interests
of safe railway operations.
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| Terms,
conditions
and
extinguish- ment of rights
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(2) The agreement may provide for the
making of a grant to the person and may
contain such terms and conditions relating to
the closure as the Minister deems advisable.
Once the agreement is made, the person's
rights relating to the crossing are extin
guished.
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9. Section 15 of the Act is replaced by the
following:
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| Appropria- tion for grants
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15. Grants authorized under section 12,
12.1, 13 or 14 shall be paid out of money
appropriated by Parliament for that purpose.
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10. Subsection 16(1) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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| Reference to
Agency
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16. (1) The proponent of a railway work,
and each beneficiary of the work, may refer
the apportionment of liability for the construc
tion, alteration, operational or maintenance
costs of the work to the Agency for a
determination if they cannot agree on the
apportionment and no recourse is available
under the Railway Act or the Railway Reloca
tion and Crossing Act. A referral may be made
either before or after construction or alteration
of the work is begun.
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11. Subsection 17(2) of the Act is re
pealed.
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12. (1) Paragraph 18(1)(a) of the Act is
replaced by the following:
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(2) Subsection 18(2) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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| Regulations
- crossing
works
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(2) The Governor in Council may make
regulations respecting crossing works, includ
ing regulations for requiring a railway compa
ny, 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 regula
tions.
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13. (1) Subsections 19(1) and (2) of the Act
are replaced by the following:
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| Formulation
or revision of
rules pursuant
to ministerial
order
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19. (1) The Minister may, by order, require
a railway company
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| Railway
company to
consult
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(2) A railway company shall not file rules
with the Minister under subsection (1) unless
it has first given each relevant association or
organization that is likely to be affected by
their implementation an opportunity to com
ment on the rules during a period of 60 days.
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(2) Section 19 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (4):
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| Amendment
of terms and
conditions
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(4.1) At the request of the railway company
referred to in subsection (4), the Minister may
amend any terms and conditions specified in
the approval notice on the basis of new
information about the safety of the railway
operations.
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(3) Section 19 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (5):
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| Effective date
of rules
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(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.
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(4) Subsection 19(8) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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| Opportunity
to comment
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(8) The Minister shall not, under this
section, establish rules applying to a particular
railway company unless the Minister has
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14. (1) Subsections 20(1) and (2) of the Act
are replaced by the following:
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| Formulation
or revision of
rules at
initiative of
railway
company
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20. (1) A railway company shall file with
the Minister for approval any rules, including
any revisions, in respect of any matter referred
to in subsection 18(1) that it proposes to
formulate or revise on its own initiative.
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| Consultation
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(2) A railway company shall not file rules
with the Minister under subsection (1) unless
it has first given each relevant association or
organization that is likely to be affected by the
implementation of the rules an opportunity to
consult with it concerning the rules during a
period of 60 days.
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(2) Subsection 20(4) of the Act is replaced
by the following:
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| Application of
certain
provisions
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(4) Where rules are filed with the Minister
pursuant to subsection (1), subsections 19(4)
to (5.1), (10) and (11) apply in relation to the
filing and consideration of those rules as if the
rules had been duly filed in compliance with
an order made pursuant to subsection 19(1).
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15. Section 22 of the Act is amended by
adding the following after subsection (3):
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| Application
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(4) A railway company may apply to the
Minister for an exemption from the applica
tion of a specified provision of regulations
under subsection 18(1) or (2) or of any rules in
force under section 19 or 20.
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| Railway
company to
consult
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(5) A railway company may not apply for an
exemption under subsection (4) unless
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| Copy of
comments
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(6) The railway company shall send with its
application to the Minister a copy of all
comments received from relevant associa
tions and organizations.
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| Period for
granting
application
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(7) The Minister may grant the application
within 60 days after receiving it if, in the
opinion of the Minister, the exemption is in the
public interest and is not likely to pose a threat
to safe railway operations.
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16. The Act is amended by adding the
following after section 22:
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| Exemption for
testing
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22.1 (1) A railway company that proposes
to conduct testing or requires an immediate
exemption of short duration is exempt from
the application of any provision of standards
under section 7, regulations under subsection
18(1) or (2) or 24(1) or rules in force under
section 19 or 20 during a period that the
company considers necessary. However, the
exemption is effective only if the railway
company files a notice of the exemption with
the Minister and each relevant association or
organization that is likely to be affected by the
exemption and
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| Objections
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(2) Each of the relevant associations or
organizations may object to the exemption on
the grounds of safety. The objection must be
filed with the Minister and the railway compa
ny within four days after the notice of
exemption is filed.
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| Minister's
decision
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(3) Within seven days after the notice of the
exemption is filed, the Minister may
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17. The Act is amended by adding the
following after section 23:
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