Honourable Anne McLellan
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
House of Commons
Ottawa

Safety of Canada's Mass Transit Systems

Dear Minister:

In the wake of the London bombings, your department is no doubt focusing on the safety of Canada’s mass transit systems. The Canada Safety Council wishes to bring to your attention a concern that has been expressed to us regarding communication in the Montreal Metro system.

A recent bomb scare forced the evacuation of the Toronto subway. The evacuation was apparently very orderly and seems to indicate a good level of preparedness. This week’s airline crash in Toronto also demonstrates the value of well-communicated evacuation procedures.

When there is an emergency causing service interruption, announcements may be made over the public address system. In Montreal, all announcements in the Metro are in French only, although many transit riders, including visitors to the city, are English speaking. A concerned transit rider has told us he believes even francophones would not hear instructions clearly due to poor sound quality. We understand the Société de transport de Montréal recognizes the inadequacy of its public address system but has been unable to convince the government of the need to upgrade. While the politics of language laws complicate the Quebec situation, language may be a barrier in other major Canadian cities due to the high immigrant population.

From a safety perspective, effective communication must be in place to tell riders what is expected so they can evacuate quickly and efficiently in case of a catastrophe. How is your department addressing this issue? Are standardized (possibly non-lingual) warning systems being considered? The Canada Safety Council would be most interested in assisting as appropriate.

Sincerely,

Emile-J. Therien
President, Canada Safety Council

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