NB Southern Railway Pleads Guilty To Two Charges Under Transportation Of Dangerous Goods Act
SAINT JOHN – New Brunswick Southern Railway Company (NBSR) was sentenced in Saint John Provincial court Friday after entering guilty pleas to two charges for offences under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act.
The railway owned by J.D. Irving Ltd. had originally pleaded not guilty to 24 charges alleging the company violated safety standards in the way it transported oil.
The charges were laid in 2017 after an investigation revealed that NBSR didn’t comply with all applicable safety requirements by transporting dangerous goods which were not accompanied by all documents required under the Regulations. The company also failed to adequately train its employees in the transportation of dangerous goods, thereby committing an offence contrary to the Act.
The Court has ordered the railway company to pay a total of $10,000 in fines and $40,000 to implement research programs in the field of safety standards under the Transportation of Dangerous Goods Act and its Regulations.
The railway company implemented corrective measures at the beginning of the investigation in 2014 and dangerous goods training has been provided to employees.
“We respect the decision of the court,” said Ian Simpson, General Manager of NBSR, in an e-mail statement to Huddle. “The NBSR team is committed to the highest standard of safety for our customers, co-workers and the communities where we operate. We acted immediately to address the documentation issues by investing in additional training and new processes.”
The allegations against the NBSR, a subsidiary of J.D. Irving Ltd., occurred after a Transport Canada probe set off by the 2013 rail derailment in Lac Megantic, Que., that killed 47 people.
According to court documents, half of the 24 charges against the railway related to an alleged failure to create proper shipping documents and the other half allege inadequately trained personnel were involved in the shipments.
These were not violations relating to the Lac Megantic disaster itself but came from other occasions between November 2012 and July 2013. These offences occurred during a time in which approximately 6853 cars transported residue of petroleum crude oil for Irving Oil Commercial GP.
Last fall, Irving Oil was ordered to pay $4-million after pleading guilty to 34 counts stemming from the investigation into the 2013 rail disaster in Lac Megantic, Que.
Transport Minister Marc Garneau reacted to the sentencing of NBSR in a statement Thursday.
“As Minister of Transport, my thoughts continue to go out to the community of Lac-Megantic and all those affected by this tragedy,” he said. “Today, we close another chapter in this tragic event through a settlement that we have reached with New Brunswick Southern Railway.”
With files from The Canadian Press.
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