UPDATED: Harper Administration Failed To Act On Auditor General's 2011 Rail Safety Recommendations - HofC Transport Committee Refuses To Convene ....
Many Canadian progressives are very aware of how deeply the Harper government is controlled by Big Oil. In light of the tragic events in Lac-Megantic, serious questions need to be directed to PM Harper. The main questions is this ... why has the Conservative administration been 'foot dragging' on a series of rail safety recommendations made by the Auditor General in a 2011 report.
"OTTAWA – The Auditor General’s Office is refuting a claim that it “granted” Transport Canada extensions on fulfilling commitments to address weaknesses in its oversight of the transportation of dangerous goods.
“We aren’t, as auditors, the ones who grant extensions,” spokeswoman Celine Bissonnette wrote in an email. “That is Transport Canada’s own decision, for which they alone are accountable.”
The deadlines in question were set in response to a damning audit from the federal environment commissioner, who worked in the Auditor General’s Office, published in December 2011.
Global News
"OTTAWA — It’s not urgent to review a critical audit exposing weaknesses in Transport Canada’s oversight of the transportation of dangerous goods because there’s no proof the report is relevant (???) in the wake of the Lac-Megantic train disaster, the Conservative chairman of the House of Commons transport committee said on Friday. Larry Miller, an Ontario MP, made the comments in response to an informal request from NDP transport critic Olivia Chow to hold emergency hearings on rail safety in light of the tragedy that has claimed dozens of lives after a runaway train carrying oil derailed, crashed and exploded in a small Quebec town last Saturday.
The Gazette
"OTTAWA – The Conservative chair of the House of Commons transport committee says it’s too soon for MPs to reconvene to discuss rail safety, as suggested by the NDP in light of the fatal train crash in Lac-Megantic, Que.
Global News
