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The derailment and explosion of a train carrying liquefied petroleum gas and crude oil in Alberta underlines the need for tougher safety rules and public consultation for getting petroleum products to market, Unifor National President Jerry Dias says.
“As frightening as this derailment was, we can be thankful that no one was hurt and the environmental damage has been limited,” Dias said.
Members of Unifor Local 100, which represents workers at CN Rail, have been assisting in the cleanup. Unifor represents 10,000 workers in the rail industry across the country.
The safety and security of rail workers and our communities depends on sound transportation and environmental regulations and consultation with all communities the trains pass through. The same is also true of pipelines.
That means regulating the pace of development, requiring strong Canadian content, managing economic side-effects (including limiting resource exports and foreign ownership), and limiting Canadian greenhouse gas emissions.
“The federal government should be leading this discussion, but so far has showed little interest in doing so,” Dias said. “They assume the private decisions of huge global corporations will find the best solution. This is wrong.”
