Question Period Note: Duty and rest period rules for operating employees

Duty and rest period rules came into force for operating employees of freight railways on May 25, 2023.

• Transport Canada is committed to protecting all Canadians who live and work along rail lines by putting in place the necessary measures to reduce the risk of serious accidents.
• The new Duty and Rest Period Rules came fully into force for freight railways on May 25, 2023 and will come fully into effect for passenger railways in November 2024.
• The new rules require freight railway companies to restrict duty periods for operating employees, namely locomotive engineers, and conductors.
• The rules reflect the latest in fatigue science and are intended to guard against cumulative fatigue and reduce probability of human errors leading to rail accidents.
• The new rules contain several significant improvements over the old rules including:
  o Reduction in the maximum length of a duty period from 16 hours to 12 hours;
  o New limits on total work hours: 60 hours per 7-day period; 192 hours per 28 day period;
  o Longer rest periods between shifts.
• Transport Canada rail safety inspectors monitor compliance with the rules, and if non-compliance or a safety concern is found, the Department will not hesitate to take appropriate enforcement action.

If Pressed on recent Canadian Pacific Kansas City Federal Court finding:

• I am aware of a recent Federal Court ruling finding Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CKPC) in contempt of court for employees working excessively long hours that were not in compliance with the collective agreement.
• Part I of the Canada Labour Code governs workplace relations and collective bargaining between unions and employers in federally regulated workplaces, including processes for collective agreement dispute resolution. The Labour Program at Employment and Social Development Canada is the regulator responsible for overseeing the Canada Labour Code.
• From 2018 to 2023, Transport Canada issued three letters of non-compliance to CPKC for exceeding 12 hours in one tour of duty.
• Transport Canada will continue to work with industry and labour to identify measures to improve fatigue management and take action on this important safety issue.

• In 2018, the Railway Safety Act Review Panel recommended that Transport Canada (TC) take a leadership role with respect to fatigue in the railway industry and regulate “prescriptive minimum criteria and non-prescriptive measures based on fatigue science”.
• From the early 1990s until mid-2022, the Transportation Safety Board has made findings or issued safety messages about sleep related fatigue in 32 rail occurrences. The issue of fatigue management in rail operations has been on the TSB Watchlist since 2016.
• In December 2018, the Minister of Transport issued a Ministerial Order instructing railway companies to revise the Work/Rest Rules for Railway Operating Employees to reflect the latest fatigue science and fatigue management practices.
• After extensive consultations with labour unions the industry submitted the Duty and Rest Period Rules for Railway Operating Employees (DRPR) on September 11, 2020, which were approved by TC on November 25, 2020 with a phased-in coming into force period.
• In the fall/winter of 2022/23, prior to the coming into force of the new Duty and Rest Period Rules for Railway Operating Employees, TC had considerable interaction with Canadian National (CN) and the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) regarding questions of interpretation.

CN’s Feedback:

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• Should a railway file an exemption request with TC, upon receipt, TC will have 60 days to review the request and decide whether to approve. In conducting its assessment, TC will examine whether the request is consistent with fatigue science and consistent with hours of work regulations in other modes.

TCRC Feedback:

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• In guidance issued in March 2023, TC stated it is the Department’s expectation that the rest break be provided at the home terminal as providing a break that is scheduled and at home provides employees with the ability to balance work and personal responsibilities and is supported by fatigue science.
• While it was thought the location for the rest break could have become an issue in recent collective bargaining, CN and TCRC reached a collective agreement on May 26, 2023, just as the rule was coming into force.
  o Note: CP had reached a two-year agreement with TCRC in August 2022 when the rules had been approved but were not yet in force.
• Since the rules came into force on May 25, 2023, TC has received about 30 inquiries from railway operating employees. Principally the employees have questions of interpretation around the calculation of how long they can work and when they must take rest. There have also been a small number of complaints stating the new rules limit the flexibility when employees can work and will therefore affect their income.

Location: National