When Melanie Loessl got a call from a friend on Feb. 6 that another oil train had crashed and burned near her community, she thought it was a joke.
Not two months earlier, she’d been forced to flee after a different Canadian Pacific Railway train carrying crude oil jumped the tracks and exploded near her home, just west of the hamlet of Guernsey, Sask.
Now, the entire community was facing evacuation.
“I was just like, ‘Oh, my God. Not again,'” said Loessl, a local potash mine worker.
“Once it happens twice in a row, it’s kind of scary.”
Melanie Loessl watched as a Canadian Pacific Railway oil train burned near her home just west of Guernsey, Sask., on Dec. 9, 2019. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)
A CBC News investigation has uncovered years’ worth of Transport Canada inspection reports documenting hundreds of safety problems along the Saskatchewan rail line, none of which prompted orders for trains to stop rolling.
What’s more, since the 2013 rail disaster in Lac-Mégantic, Que., that killed 47 people, there have been seven major derailments of crude oil trains in Canada. In each case, investigators blame broken track.
Experts who reviewed the CBC’s findings say the documents suggest the government regulator, Transport Canada, is failing to properly oversee rail companies and ensure the safety of hundreds of communities along the country’s vast rail networks.
‘Neither derailment was a surprise’
CBC News obtained five Transport Canada inspection reports from 2016 to 2020 for the CP line that stretches 183 kilometres from Wynyard, Sask., through Guernsey to Saskatoon, the province’s most populous city.
The reports detail hundreds of problems found by inspectors: 131 “non-compliances” and 215 “concerns,” including missing or defective railway ties (the wooden planks anchoring the track) and broken joint bars (which connect two long pieces of rail).
Ian Naish, a former director of rail investigations for the Transportation Safety Board (TSB), which investigates rail crashes, reviewed the inspection reports for CBC News.
He says the Saskatchewan track was in “really bad shape.”
“That’s an awful lot of non-compliance reports and concerns, and it looked like they were consistent over the three or four years,” Naish said.
“Neither derailment was a surprise at all.”
The government department that regulates and polices rail companies is Transport Canada.
During May and August of 2019, Transport Canada inspectors found more than 200 issues, including a defective piece of rail just hundreds of metres from where the second oil train derailed and blew up near Guernsey.
The documents detail CP’s plans for corrective action. Transport Canada says CP made “all necessary repairs” to defects found in 2019.
CP says its Saskatchewan line “has and will continue to be properly maintained,” noting the company spends hundreds of millions of dollars on annual maintenance.
Track issues ‘all too common,’ government says
While acknowledging “track issues remain an all too common cause of main track derailments,” Transport Canada insists it runs a “robust” oversight program.
“The non-compliances found during the track inspections in May and August 2019 were considered minor as CP Rail was able to mitigate the safety risk by temporarily reducing the maximum allowable speed along the tracks until repairs were made,” a government spokesperson said in an email.
And yet, two trains derailed and exploded on that very track, spilling a combined 3.1 million litres of crude oil and prompting the people of Guernsey to evacuate their homes.
The Transportation Safety Board says it suspects broken rail as the cause of both crashes.
The second derailment, just east of Guernsey, Sask., produced enough black smoke to prompt the community’s evacuation. The Transportation Safety Board says it suspects broken rail is responsible for both crashes. (Philippe Gaudet)
Heavy loads on the rise
Jack Gibney, the reeve for the municipality that includes Guernsey, wonders whether CP shouldn’t have foreseen the track issues, given the dramatic increase in oil shipments.
“The last couple years, it’s probably three times the amount of traffic we’re used to. Trains a mile long,” he said. “You can’t expect to put that much traffic over a rail line and not do the proper upkeep to keep it safe.”
In fact, CP’s loads of crude oil along the line southeast of Saskatoon have increased sevenfold since 2017, according to the Transportation Safety Board.
A Canadian Pacific Railway truck is parked at the site where a second train derailed near Guernsey on Feb. 6, 2020. (Guy Quenneville/CBC)
Rob Johnston, the head of the board’s rail operations for Central Canada, points to two Canadian National Railway oil trains that derailed in early 2015. The crashes happened within 11 kilometres and three weeks of each other near Gogama in northern Ontario.
CN reconstructed large sections of the track to handle heavier loads and hasn’t had a crash there since, Johnston said.
“That speaks volumes to what needs to be done here,” he said of the Saskatchewan track.
In Guernsey, on the heels of this winter’s explosions and spills, CP is now replacing a large span of track. The company says it has also added 11 of its own new inspectors across Canada where crude trains operate.
WATCH | We flew a drone over CP’s repair work in Guernsey:
In and near Guernsey, Sask. 0:40
‘Chronic problems’ met with no sanctions
There have been seven major oil train crashes in Canada since Lac-Mégantic: the two in Guernsey; the two in northern Ontario in 2015; plus one in St. Lazare, Man.; and two more in northwestern Ontario.
No one died, but five of the crashes happened within a few kilometres of towns and villages.
Six of the seven resulted in spills, releasing a combined 8.4 million litres of crude oil.
In all cases, the Transportation Safety Board blames track issues.
The seven derailed oil trains spilled a combined 8.4 million litres of oil. (CBC)
Naish says it shouldn’t take so many disasters for the government to act, pointing to the “chronic problems” found on the Saskatchewan line and the lack of fines or train shutdowns ordered by Transport Canada.
“Sometimes regulators have to drop the hammer [on railways],” Naish said.
In Saskatchewan, “there was all kinds of opportunity for regulatory action before the accidents actually occurred,” he said.
‘Tighter controls’ over industry needed, TSB warns
In March, the TSB issued two rail safetyadvisories warning Transport Canada to overhaul the track safety rules for routes that carry heavy volumes of dangerous goods.
“We’re asking them to put improved standards and maybe tighter controls,” Johnston said.
Transport Canada responded in April by issuing threeministerialorders. They instructed railways to improve the quality and frequency of track inspections.
The federal regulator also called on rail companies to develop and revise new track safety rules.
But that’s a problem, according to Bruce Campbell, a professor of environmental studies at York University who wrote a book on the Lac-Mégantic disaster.
“The government touts its rigorous regulatory practices, but in reality, risk management is left to the companies,” he said. “In an ideal world, Transport Canada would have the science and the resources to independently evaluate and revise the rules itself.”
After the 2013 Lac-Mégantic catastrophe, the government and railways adopted tougher safety measures for shipping dangerous goods, including redesigning oil tanker cars.
Yet derailments and spills keep happening, Campbell said.
“Guernsey dodged a bullet,” he said. “What happens if the next time it’s in a large community like Toronto or Montreal or Vancouver or Winnipeg?
BLOOMFIELD HILLS, Mich. (AP) — Lions coach Dan Campbell is selling his suburban Detroit home to get more privacy.
“There’s plenty of space, it’s on two acres, the home is beautiful,” Campbell told Crain’s Detroit Business. “It’s just that people figured out where we lived when we lost.”
He didn’t elaborate.
Campbell and wife Holly listed the 7,800-square-foot house in Bloomfield Hills for $4.5 million this week. A deal was pending within 24 hours, Crain’s reported.
Campbell was hired by the Lions in 2021. After a 3-13-1 record that season, the team has become one of the best in the NFL, reaching the NFC championship game last January.
Campbell’s home was built in 2013 for Igor Larionov, a Hockey Hall of Fame member who played for the Detroit Red Wings.
The likely buyers are “huge” Lions fans, said Ashley Crain, who is representing Campbell and the buyers in the sale.
Ariella Kimmel and Mandi Johnson were grabbing a bite to eat in Vienna, when their August trip to the Austrian capital was upended.
The Canadian duo had travelled to the city to see Taylor Swift in concert only to learn her shows would be cancelled because of two men plotting to launch an attack on fans outside the venue, Ernst Happel Stadium.
While Kimmel and Johnson were disappointed they weren’t going to be able to see Swift perform, they made the most of the remainder of their trip. However, the experience serves as a buyer’s beware for Canadians considering jet setting to see their favourite artists or teams.
“If you’re travelling to these concerts, it’s really hard to protect yourself,” said Kimmel, a Toronto-based vice-president at a public affairs firm who had previously travelled with Johnson to see Swift in Las Vegas, Nashville and Stockholm.
Such trips can make lifelong memories when they go off without a hitch, but cancellations and rescheduled events are common because of artist illnesses, poor ticket sales, security threats, unruly weather and natural disasters.
In the last year alone, Jennifer Lopez and the Black Keys scuttled touring plans after tickets had been sold, while Bruce Springsteen, Usher and Pink had to tell fans they couldn’t take the stage mere hoursbefore show time.
Between airfares, hotels, travel expenses and tickets, last-minute cancellations can leave globe-trotting eventgoers out hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.
“Regrettably, unpredictability has always been a reality of the industry but it’s increasingly common that there might be things that are going to interrupt your plans, especially plans that you’re really excited about,” said Jenny Kost, the Calgary-based global director of strategic sales initiatives at Corporate Traveller Canada.
“It’s a tricky one because the airline or hotel understands the reason behind your travel but its likelihood of happening or not happening is a little bit outside of their purview.”
Because Swift is known to power through shows even when sick, Kimmel never imagined a concert she was headed to would ever be cancelled, but she always booked plane tickets and hotels that could be rescheduled or refunded — a move she recommends to others travelling for events.
“It’s like common sense, you never know what’s going to happen,” Kimmel said.
However, making use of the rescheduling and refund options her hotel booking and airline tickets had weren’t an option for Kimmel this time because she had already been in Austria for a few days and had very little of her stay left when Swift cancelled.
Had the show been nixed before Kimmel left home, the flexibility baked into the bookings would have been useful, though Kost said such arrangements aren’t cheap.
“There is a cost associated with that that’s not insignificant,” she warned, estimating these kinds of bookings can add hundreds of dollars to your bill and have lots of quirks in the fine print.
The better bet is travel insurance, Kost said. It’s often cheaper than flexible fares and hotel bookings and can reimburse customers for accommodations and flights they have to drop or swap when an event gets cancel or an emergency strikes.
Kost opted for such insurance when she journeyed to Paris to see Swift over the summer and bought it again in a cab on her way to Mexico for a wedding. The insurance cost her about $150 for a week, but when she had to extend her stay because she fell ill, it covered the cost of all of her accommodations.
She doesn’t encourage people to wait until the last minute to buy the insurance like she did because buying it early can provide some reprieve when an event you’re travelling to is cancelled well in advance.
Travel costs aside, people heading out-of-town for events that wind up cancelled also have to consider whether they will get the money they spent on entry fees and tickets back.
In Kimmel and Johnson’s case, they paid Ticketmaster about $300 per seat. They learned just after the cancellation that they would be refunded — but not for an $85 transaction fee they were charged when purchasing the tickets.
“We paid $85 to not see her but I guess that in the grand scheme of what we were going to pay, it’s not a lot at all,” Kimmel said.
They did not opt to buy insurance on their tickets, which Ticketmaster offers through Allianz Global Assistance for $8, plus tax. Allianz’s vice-president of marketing and insights Dan Keon said the insurance offers coverage up to $1,000 per ticket.
In addition to offering refunds if an event is cancelled by a venue or promoter, the coverage can provide a reimbursement for a variety of situations. Those include if you are facing a serious medical issue or death, have a family member in life-threatening condition, are summoned by the military or are delayed in arriving at the venue because of a common transportation carrier.
If you’re going to opt into the insurance, Keon said review the terms ahead of time, so you understand exactly what scenarios you will be covered in.
The insurance, for example, can’t be used in the event of a pandemic, war or natural disaster.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 19, 2024.
Losing a loved one is never easy, and the legal steps that follow can add even more stress to an already difficult time.
For years, families in Vancouver (and Canada in general) have struggled with a complex probate process—filled with paperwork and legal challenges.
Thankfully, recent changes to Canada’s probate laws aim to make this process simpler and easier to navigate.
Let’s unearth how these updates can simplify the process for you and your family.
What is probate?
Probate might sound complicated, but it’s simply the legal process of settling someone’s estate after death.
Here’s how it works.
Validating the will. The court checks if the will is legal and valid.
Appointing an executor. If named in the will, the executor manages the estate. If not, the court appoints someone.
Settling debts and taxes. The executor (and you) pays debts and taxes before anything can be given.
Distributing the estate. Once everything is settled, the executor distributes the remaining assets according to the will or legal rules.
Probate ensures everything is done by the book, giving you peace of mind during a difficult time.
Recent Changes in Canadian Probate Laws
Several updates to probate law in the country are making the process smoother for you and your family.
Here’s a closer look at the fundamental changes that are making a real difference.
1) Virtual witnessing of wills
Now permanent in many provinces, including British Columbia, wills can be signed and witnessed remotely through video calls.
Such a change makes estate planning more accessible, especially for those in remote areas or with limited mobility.
2) Simplified process for small estates
Smaller estates, like those under 25,000 CAD in BC, now have a faster, simplified probate process.
Fewer forms and legal steps mean less hassle for families handling modest estates.
3) Substantial compliance for wills
Courts can now approve wills with minor errors if they reflect the person’s true intentions.
This update prevents unnecessary legal challenges and ensures the deceased’s wishes are respected.
These changes help make probate less stressful and more efficient for you and other families across Canada.
The Probate Process and You: The Role of a Probate Lawyer
(Image: Freepik.com)
Working with a probate lawyer in Vancouver can significantly simplify the probate process, especially given the city’s complex legal landscape.
Here’s how they can help.
Navigating the legal process
Probate lawyers ensure all legal steps are followed, preventing costly mistakes and ensuring the estate is managed properly.
Handling paperwork and deadlines
They manage all the paperwork and court deadlines, taking the burden off of you during this difficult time.
Resolving disputes
If conflicts arise, probate lawyers resolve them, avoiding legal battles.
Providing you peace of mind
With a probate lawyer’s expertise, you can trust that the estate is being handled efficiently and according to the law.
With a skilled probate lawyer, you can ensure the entire process is smooth and stress-free.
Why These Changes Matter
The updates to probate law make a big difference for Canadian families. Here’s why.
Less stress for you. Simplified processes mean you can focus on grieving, not paperwork.
Faster estate settlements. Estates are settled more quickly, so beneficiaries don’t face long delays.
Fewer disputes. Courts can now honor will with minor errors, reducing family conflicts.
Accessible for everyone. Virtual witnessing and easier rules for small estates make probate more accessible for everyone, no matter where you live.
With these changes, probate becomes smoother and more manageable for you and your family.
How to Prepare for the Probate Process
Even with the recent changes, being prepared makes probate smoother. Here are a few steps to help you prepare.
Create a will. Ensure a valid will is in place to avoid complications.
Choose an executor. Pick someone responsible for managing the estate and discuss their role with them.
Organize documents. Keep key financial and legal documents in one place for easy access.
Talk to your family. Have open conversations with your family to prevent future misunderstandings.
Get legal advice. Consult with a probate lawyer to ensure everything is legally sound and up-to-date.
These simple steps make the probate process easier for everyone involved.
Wrapping Up: Making Probate Easier in Vancouver
Recent updates in probate law are simplifying the process for families, from virtual witnessing to easier estate rules. These reforms are designed to ease the burden, helping you focus on what matters—grieving and respecting your dead loved ones’ final wishes.
Despite these changes, it’s best to consult a probate lawyer to ensure you can manage everything properly. Remember, they’re here to help you during this difficult time.
