Recent Controversies
Transport Canada has been the centre of a number of controversies in recent years. The first involved criticism of its move to Safety Management Systems in its regulation of civil aviation. Whistleblower Hugh Danford, a former inspector at Transport Canada, went on record criticizing this approach, indicating that it would increase risk to the flying public. The rail industry in Canada, which has had SMS for a number of years already and is also regulated by Transport Canada, has shown a marked increase in accidents under this regulatory scheme. Critics have warned that introducing SMS to the aviation sector is "a recipe for disaster". That said, the aviation accident rate in Canada has steadily declined.
In another, several Transport Canada senior executives, including Assistant Deputy Minister, Safety and Security, Marc Grégoire, were sued for reprisals against another whistleblower, Ian Bron who reported that the Marine Security framework was riddled with gaps.
More recently, Transport Canada has been criticized for its refusal to approve electrical cars manufactured in Canada.
The Canadian Association of Journalists nominated Transport Canada for its Secrecy Award for a second time in 2008, indicating that a bill to amend the Aeronautics Act will cause "a veil of secrecy fall over all information reported by airlines about performance, safety violations, aviation safety problems and their resolution."
In September 2009, Transport Canada was alleged to have fraudulently charged expenses to the non-existent Mackenzie Valley Pipeline project. This story came to light after repeated efforts by access to information expert Ken Rubin, and repeated denials by the department that the incriminating documents existed or that any impropriety had occurred.
Also in September 2009, the CBC's Fifth Estate produced a report "Riding on Risk", which detailed alleged mismanagement and cover-ups in Transport Canada. The story was sparked by a lost memory stick which was found by a journalism student. The memory stick contained many documents showing efforts by security inspectors to enforce aviation security regulations, and the perceived failure of management to do so. The CBC report also detailed the alleged reprisals — and fear of reprisals - against whistleblowers and other employees.
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