MP calls for inquiry into rail death

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This article was published 08/03/2019 (2764 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

OTTAWA — Northern Manitoba MP Niki Ashton is calling for an inquiry into a conductor’s death last fall after a Hudson Bay Railway train derailed, after obtaining documents suggesting it could have been prevented.

Kevin Anderson died from internal bleeding early Sept. 16, 2018, after a train derailed in Ponton, south of Thompson. An engineer on board also sustained “a severe disabling injury,” reads an internal Canada Labour Code ruling.

The Teamsters union has raised questions about why it took paramedics seven hours after the derailment to reach Anderson, and whether sufficient measures had been taken to prevent track washouts caused by beavers. The derailment was initially only spotted when a pilot happened upon the scene.

The Jan. 9 labour ruling, obtained by Ashton, shows Ottawa found “the employer failed to inform operating employees of a known hazard.”

That’s because a Sept. 10 inspection found water pooling around that part of the track, which reduced the amount of weight it could sustain, “after a year of excessive precipitation, beaver activity and an obstructed culvert.”

The firm issued a directive that trains must move 16 km/h slower through that stretch, which Via Rail did later that day.

“Corrective measures” were then partially taken, though HBR decided not to replace the culvert until water levels dropped, the ruling reads, adding HBR lifted its lowered-speed directive.

A Transport Canada inspector, on behalf of Employment and Social Development Canada, found HBR failed to rectify the problem or properly warn employees of the risk.

While the Transportation Safety Board is investigating the incident, it has suggested the train derailed because of a washout at a culvert, likely due to beaver activity. Its full report is not expected until late summer.

The deadly incident happened just weeks after Ottawa handed over HBR ownership from Denver-based Omnitrax to the local consortium Arctic Gateway, which is disputing all four findings in the ruling.

The ruling also found HBR failed to adequately ensure paramedics could reach remote accident scenes, despite that being required under federal labour rules.

HBR also “failed to prepare” contingency plans for when accidents occur in areas with intermittent radio service, or how to react when a scheduled train never arrives, the ruling found.

In an interview, an Arctic Gateway spokesman said it will contest those claims in the Federal Court of Appeal.

“There are some very material factual inaccuracies in their understanding of the events,” said Murad al-Katib, chief executive officer of Saskatchewan grain giant AGT Foods. AGT is part of the consortium that owns HBR.

“Because of that, there’s really not too much we can say.”

Ashton believes a court battle isn’t enough. “There is a need for a full inquiry into this matter,” Ashton wrote to Transport Minister Marc Garneau in a letter on Wednesday. “I urge your office to move forward with one.”

Garneau wasn’t available for a Friday interview, but his office noted federal labour code prevents his department from releasing details about its investigations.

His office said Transport Canada has verified HBR had complied with rail safety and dangerous goods rules at the time of the derailment.

An online obituary for Anderson has drawn condolences from dozens of strangers who are also rail workers. A Facebook profile shows him sitting on a motorcycle, and posting cautionary messages about road safety.

dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca

Labour Code ruling on Ponton derailment death