Cabinet has granted federal rail inspectors new powers to combat increasing "security incidents" amid fears of sabotage. Blacklock's Reporter says the Department of Transport revealed that incidents of sabotage have been on the rise but did not provide specific numbers.“There has been a disturbing trend of increased levels of security incidents related to Canada’s rail infrastructure in recent years,” cabinet wrote in a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement. “The number of incidents related to trespassing, sabotage, tampering, vandalism, interference with rail operations, and suspicious activities is of concern.”Although no specific figures were disclosed, the Analysis Statement noted, “For example, the number of rail security incidents reported in 2020 more than doubled those reported in 2019, and incidents reported in 2021 and 2022 show the upward trend is continuing. While there have not been fatalities linked to these events, the incidents could create safety risks.”Previously, rail inspectors could only refer incidents to police and Crown prosecutors. However, amendments to Rail Transportation Safety Regulations, effective this week, now allow inspectors to impose fines of up to $250,000.“Transport Canada’s rail security program lacks a medium-impact administrative enforcement tool to address rail security violations,” staff wrote. “All violations of the Railway Safety Act and the regulations cannot realistically be prosecuted.”With railways carrying more than six million shipments of dangerous goods annually, the government emphasized the urgency of these measures. “It is critical that the government take measures,” stated the Analysis Statement.While cases of rail sabotage are rare, they are not unprecedented. On June 5, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a life sentence for two suspected terrorists from Toronto and Montréal convicted of conspiring to bomb a VIA Rail line in 2013. The plot was unsuccessful.The last confirmed terrorist attack occurred in 1940 when unidentified saboteurs dynamited a Canadian Pacific Railway bridge over the Assiniboine River at Brandon, Manitoba, just before a westbound CPR passenger train was due. The damage was limited, and there were no injuries.In 1917, U.S. authorities also uncovered a German plot to sabotage CPR lines. The plans were detailed in a leaked 1916 telegram from the German Foreign Office that contemplated “destruction of the Canadian Pacific Railway at several points with a view to complete and protracted interruption of traffic.”
Cabinet has granted federal rail inspectors new powers to combat increasing "security incidents" amid fears of sabotage. Blacklock's Reporter says the Department of Transport revealed that incidents of sabotage have been on the rise but did not provide specific numbers.“There has been a disturbing trend of increased levels of security incidents related to Canada’s rail infrastructure in recent years,” cabinet wrote in a Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement. “The number of incidents related to trespassing, sabotage, tampering, vandalism, interference with rail operations, and suspicious activities is of concern.”Although no specific figures were disclosed, the Analysis Statement noted, “For example, the number of rail security incidents reported in 2020 more than doubled those reported in 2019, and incidents reported in 2021 and 2022 show the upward trend is continuing. While there have not been fatalities linked to these events, the incidents could create safety risks.”Previously, rail inspectors could only refer incidents to police and Crown prosecutors. However, amendments to Rail Transportation Safety Regulations, effective this week, now allow inspectors to impose fines of up to $250,000.“Transport Canada’s rail security program lacks a medium-impact administrative enforcement tool to address rail security violations,” staff wrote. “All violations of the Railway Safety Act and the regulations cannot realistically be prosecuted.”With railways carrying more than six million shipments of dangerous goods annually, the government emphasized the urgency of these measures. “It is critical that the government take measures,” stated the Analysis Statement.While cases of rail sabotage are rare, they are not unprecedented. On June 5, the Ontario Court of Appeal upheld a life sentence for two suspected terrorists from Toronto and Montréal convicted of conspiring to bomb a VIA Rail line in 2013. The plot was unsuccessful.The last confirmed terrorist attack occurred in 1940 when unidentified saboteurs dynamited a Canadian Pacific Railway bridge over the Assiniboine River at Brandon, Manitoba, just before a westbound CPR passenger train was due. The damage was limited, and there were no injuries.In 1917, U.S. authorities also uncovered a German plot to sabotage CPR lines. The plans were detailed in a leaked 1916 telegram from the German Foreign Office that contemplated “destruction of the Canadian Pacific Railway at several points with a view to complete and protracted interruption of traffic.”
