Teamsters Canada join railway "SOS" to Save Ontario Short-Lines
(Teamsters Canada Rail Conference issued the following on June 17, 2009.)
OTTAWA the wake of rising train derailments like the recent ones in Oshawa that forced families from their homes and in the Ottawa Valley that dumped 20,000 litres of diesel into the waterways, Teamsters Canada urges the provincial government to join the Ontario Short Line Railway Infrastructure Partnership.
"Ontario lost more than 60,000 jobs in May alone and the province's 14 short line railways are important enablers of economic activity, especially in rural areas with agricultural and resource-based industries," said William Brehl, President of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference, Maintenance of Way Employees Division, and a member of Transport Canada's Advisory Council on Railway Safety.
Ontario's short line railways connect to the main lines of Canadian Pacific and Canadian National and provide essential rail service to underserved areas of the province from Moosonee in the north to Amherstburg south of Windsor.
"But the infrastructure on many of the 14 Ontario short lines is in disrepair and needs to be fixed. Some track restricts trains to less than 20 kilometres per hour and there is a real possibility some of these short lines will close down as early as this summer due to safety concerns and operating inefficiencies. This is not a bailout. It's an investment between the companies and government; not only in creating Ontario jobs but in ensuring public safety. We at the Teamsters do not always see eye-to-eye with the Railway Association of Canada, but this is a viable plan that creates jobs, protects public safety and the environment, and keeps vital links open to rural areas, particularly in Northern Ontario. It is time for Premier Dalton McGuinty and his government to come on board," Mr. Brehl said.
"We cannot ignore the fact that no other form of transportation can move all of the commodities that trains do. The people of Ontario need less pollution, less congested highways and a re-energized economy. A safe railway system is the only form of transportation that can contribute in a meaningful way to the realization of all three of these goals. They say that everything old becomes new again. The railways built this country and have always played a crucial role in our national life. In a country as vast as ours, safe rail transportation simply makes sense, and never in our history has that been truer than it is today," Mr. Brehl added.
About TCRC-MWED
Teamsters Canada Rail Conference Maintenance of Way Employees Division (TCRC-MWED), a division of Teamsters Canada, represents more than 4,000 maintenance of way workers at CP Rail and almost two dozen short line railroads across Canada. Its members are involved in inspecting, monitoring and repairing the tracks, bridges and structures on the network. TCRC-MWED's mission is to make sure that the railway is safe, in spite of any economic, managerial or other obstacles.
