In December 1980, Justice Samuel Grange reported that federal transport regulators had spent a decade deferring to railway profits instead of mandating basic safety equipment.
I remember that incident, thankfully no one was injured. My brother and his wife lived at Dundas and Hurontario as I recall, so they were not evacuated, although my wife and I offer a place to stay if needed. I also remember my wife and attending the Billy Joel concert where he came out with a gas mask. Thank you for this article showing what regulatory capture can look like. I am sure if you looked at the composition of the railway side of the CTC you would find it composed of ex-railwaymen
"A quarter of a million people had been driven from their homes not because Canadian engineers lacked the technology to detect burning axles or protect tank cars, but because federal regulators had decided that saving railway corporations money was more important than protecting Canadian communities from industrial disaster."
An excellent article, Mike. I had training on hazardous materials and dangerous goods handling. Thankfully I never experienced a large BLEVE and smaller events involving a fire impacted 100 pound propane tanks. Thant was “hazardous” enough.
The inhabitants and emergency services personnel in Mississauga were very, very lucky…
My gut feeling is that the governance culture has transitioned back to when the Canadian Crowns (federal and provincial governments) are more interested in protecting the special interests of specific industries over the health and safety of the public (which includes environmental harms).
I don't believe these projects or zones deemed "in the national interest" are actually in the interests of the inhabitants (human and more-than-human).
I remember that incident, thankfully no one was injured. My brother and his wife lived at Dundas and Hurontario as I recall, so they were not evacuated, although my wife and I offer a place to stay if needed. I also remember my wife and attending the Billy Joel concert where he came out with a gas mask. Thank you for this article showing what regulatory capture can look like. I am sure if you looked at the composition of the railway side of the CTC you would find it composed of ex-railwaymen
"A quarter of a million people had been driven from their homes not because Canadian engineers lacked the technology to detect burning axles or protect tank cars, but because federal regulators had decided that saving railway corporations money was more important than protecting Canadian communities from industrial disaster."
An excellent article, Mike. I had training on hazardous materials and dangerous goods handling. Thankfully I never experienced a large BLEVE and smaller events involving a fire impacted 100 pound propane tanks. Thant was “hazardous” enough.
The inhabitants and emergency services personnel in Mississauga were very, very lucky…
My gut feeling is that the governance culture has transitioned back to when the Canadian Crowns (federal and provincial governments) are more interested in protecting the special interests of specific industries over the health and safety of the public (which includes environmental harms).
I don't believe these projects or zones deemed "in the national interest" are actually in the interests of the inhabitants (human and more-than-human).