Article content continued

Raitt said she’ll wait for a response to the TSB from Transport Canada officials before committing the federal government to any specific actions, including whether to adopt key recommendations in the TSB report. However, Raitt noted the Conservative government has implemented previous TSB recommendations since the disaster on July 6, 2013, and indicated the government will likely do so again.

“Today’s report does indeed talk about higher expectations for Transport Canada. I share those expectations and I know the public shares those expectations as well, too,” Raitt said.

“We need to remember that in terms of (rail) safety, the government puts the rules in place. The companies are expected to follow the rules. The company did not follow the rules,” she added.

The minister insisted the department is “fully resourced” and has the capacity to ensure a safe rail system in Canada, including for the transport of dangerous goods like crude oil.

Raitt also defended the current safety management system (SMS) under which rail companies largely manage their own safety risks rather than having them directly managed by Transport Canada — an approach opposition parties say amounts to deregulation and poses risks to public safety.

“It comes down to a fundamental fact: there’s 46,000 kilometres of rail track in this country. And you can’t possibly ever have enough inspectors at every way points on every train at every single moment to have that kind of continuous oversight,” she said.