Terms of Reference for the Advisory Council on Railway Safety (ACRS)

(Final, August 19th, 2008)

Table of Contents

• Objective
• Mandate
• Guiding Principles
• Scope
• Structure
  • Advisory Council
  • Chair
  • Members
  • Working Groups
  • Secretariat
• Frequency of Meetings
• Document Preparation and Distribution
• Review of the Terms of Reference

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Objective

To provide a forum for the development and assessment of changes to the Railway Safety Act (RSA) regulatory framework through collaborative activities and for dialogue on railway safety issues.

Mandate

The Advisory Council's mandate is to make recommendations on the rail safety regulatory framework and related issues by:

• identifying railway safety issues that need to be addressed through new or amended regulations, rules, policies, standards or procedures;
• recommending/advising on regulatory priorities;
• ensuring all affected stakeholder views are directly involved in, or consulted on, the development of new or amended regulations, rules, policies, standards or procedures; and
• dialoguing on railway safety issues and possible courses of action.

Guiding Principles

The following general principles will govern the work of the Advisory Council:

• the Council is a strategic, advisory body;
• the goal of any proposal will be to maintain or improve Canada's rail safety standards;
• advice will be developed on a consensus basis (whenever possible) and with the full participation of affected parties; and
• federal regulatory policies and procedures regarding participation and consultation will be followed.

Scope

The Advisory Council will deal with regulations and rules that affect operations nationally (i.e. all regulations developed by Transport Canada, and all rules developed by the industry). It may also dialogue on railway safety issues of a strategic nature. To ensure that the work of the Advisory Council does not slow down operations, it will not deal with short-term exemptions, localized issues or collective bargaining issues.

Structure

Advisory Council

The Advisory Council should have between 15-20 members, drawn from federal, provincial and municipal governments, the railway industry, labour organizations and other stakeholders such as shippers and suppliers. To the extent possible, members will represent their organizations and would be authorized to act on their behalf. Each organization may designate one or more alternates. Normally, only the member or their alternate would attend meetings, not both.

Chair

• Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety & Security, Transport Canada (for initial meetings)
• Longer-term: to be determined

Members

Organization	Membership
Transport Canada	3 members
Railway Association of Canada	1 member
CP	1 member
CN	1 member
VIA	1 member
Short lines	1 member
Commuter	1 member
Shippers	1 member
Suppliers	1 member
Provinces	1 member
Municipalities	1 member
CAW	1 member
TCRC (Running Trades)	1 member
TCRC (Maintenance of Way Employees Division)	1 member
Canadian Labour Congress	1 member
USW	1 member
UTU	1 member
IBEW	1 member
Public at large	1 member
Observers	at the discretion and invitation of the Advisory Council

Working Groups

Working Groups would be established as required to address specific issues. Working Groups would be established for the period required for them to complete their assigned task. Membership would be limited to no more than 10 individuals who are subject matter experts with a specialized knowledge of the task.

Secretariat

A secretariat would be established in Transport Canada, Rail Safety Directorate as the departmental focal point and would be responsible for managing the activities of the Advisory Council.

Frequency of Meetings

The Advisory Council should meet at least twice a year. Interim meetings could be called at the discretion of the chair. Working Groups would meet as required to achieve results in keeping with deadlines set by the Advisory Council.

Document Preparation and Distribution

Documentation for Advisory Council meetings will be provided in advance of meetings and, to the extent possible, allow for sufficient time for members to review such documentation prior to meetings. In the normal course of events, decision records will be produced and published on Transport Canada's Rail Safety Directorate website.

Review of the Terms of Reference

These terms of reference may be reviewed periodically (say once a year) and amendments made as necessary (for example, with respect to membership such as for those representing a group of organizations or interests where membership may be considered on a "rotational" basis).