Response from Minister Chuck Strahl to our Request for Crashworthiness Testing

January 13, 2011

Dear Ms. Hains:

Thank you for your correspondence of November 23, 2010, further to our meeting in Halifax, in which you requested an update on the status of the 15-passenger van safety review. I have responded to your questions in the same order as in your email.

Recognition of Multifunctional Activity Buses (MFABs) as sub-category of school buses

Transport Canada is developing a regulatory proposal to recognize MFABs within the Motor Vehicle Safety Regulations (MVSRs) to which appropriate safety standards would apply. Amending the Regulations must follow a multi-step regulatory process.

The necessary testing, research and analysis are conducted during this regulatory development process, including consultation. As with all regulatory proposals, this proposal must be assessed and approved by the Regulatory Affairs Sector of the Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat. If subsequently approved by Treasury Board, the proposed amendment would then be published in Part I of the Canada Gazette, followed by a 75-day consultation period for all interested persons to comment on the proposal.

Your group, the Van Angels, may wish to provide comments at that time. The feedback received will help to determine whether the amendment is proposed to the Treasury Board as a final regulation to be written into law. If approved by the Treasury Board and the Governor General, the final regulation would then be published in the Part II of the Canada Gazette.

Contact with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA)

The CSA committee on school buses includes members from industry, operators, school boards, provincial and territorial governments and Transport Canada. The Department has been an active member of the school bus committee for many years and participates in CSA meetings every six months. The school bus committee also developed the recent MFAB D-270 standard. I should add that Transport Canada participated in the development of the D-270 standard. In addition, the CSA has been informed that the Department is developing a regulatory proposal to recognize MFABs within the MVSRs.

Development of a national approach to school transportation safety

As you may be aware, the provinces and territories, and not the federal government, have jurisdiction to consider banning the use of 15-passenger vans in their respective jurisdictions. On June 18, 2010, my predecessor, the Honourable John Baird, sent letters to his provincial and territorial counterparts to encourage them to review the legislative and regulatory instruments under their authorities that guide the use of vehicles for the transportation of school children in general. Furthermore, the provinces and territories, through the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA), have established a Working Group to develop policy and guidelines to address the issue.

The Working Group will be developing a framework for a recommended national approach regarding the use of 15-passenger vans, including a series of recommendations as to the proper use of these vehicles if used for student transportation. You may wish to contact the CCMTA by telephone at 613‑736-1003, or through its website at www.ccmta.ca .

Recommendations on licence classes

Since the licensing of drivers is a provincial/territorial responsibility, Transport Canada does not have jurisdiction on what class of licence or training drivers must have. The Department does not issue driver’s licences or register vehicles. Skill and experience are key elements to operate vehicles safely; this is particularly true for trucks and buses, which handle differently than cars. This also applies to full-size vans, such as 15-passenger vans, which are classified as buses in the MVSRs. The CCMTA will be studying driver licensing requirements as part of its project.

Crash-worthiness testing on 15-passenger vans

As I had committed to doing in Halifax in September, Transport Canada will be conducting crash testing. The vehicles have been ordered for that purpose and, according to the supplier, they should be available for testing before March 2011. Availability of final report to the public Transport Canada’s study on van safety is ongoing. As you know, the Department performed some stability and brake testing in the summer of 2010, and a technical report on these tests is nearing completion. This report will be shared with the CCMTA once it has been completed. The report will describe the stability and brake testing performed and provide the results of the Department’s analyses. To date, seven different vehicles—a minivan, a 12-passenger van, two different 15-passenger vans, an 18‑passenger school bus, a 29-passenger school bus and a 20-passenger MFAB—have been tested.

Once additional testing is completed in 2011, Transport Canada intends to post the results online. The intent is to publish a non-technical summary of the findings for all interested Canadians. Progress on 15-passenger van safety review This email provides you with a status report on the work that has been ongoing within the Department and of the proposed work ahead. Again, once the testing is completed in 2011, Transport Canada intends to publish a non-technical summary of its findings for all interested Canadian stakeholders. Appointment of a political and bureaucratic liaison As I had noted during our meeting in September, the appropriate Transport Canada contacts on this matter are XXXXXX, Chief of Staff, and Mr. XXXX XXX, Director General, Road Safety and Motor Vehicle Regulation. Mr. XXX can be reached at kash.ram@tc.gc.ca .

Private Member’s Bill C-522

During our meeting, I had indicated that Bill C-522, proposed by Mr. Yvon Godin, Member of Parliament, is subject to the usual Parliamentary procedures with respect to Private Members’ Bills. There is a system by which such Bills are selected and debated if there is broad support among Members of Parliament. You may wish to contact Mr. Godin as your Member of Parliament for further information. While I sincerely appreciate that Mr. Godin has raised the profile of safety on this issue, I believe that the end result of improved safety can best be achieved through working with the provinces and territories in the aforementioned manner I have described.

I hope this addresses your concerns and further demonstrates the Department’s serious commitment to road safety.

Thank you once again for your email and continued interest in safe student transportation.

Sincerely, Chuck Strahl
c.c. Mr. Yvon Godin, M.P.
The Honourable David Alward, M.L.A.
The Honourable Claude Williams, M.L.A.
The Honourable Robert Trevors, M.L.A.
The Honourable Jody Carr, M.L.A.

Meeting with Minister Chuck Strahl, September 30, 2010

This one page document was presented to Minister of Transport, Hon. Chuck Strahl, at the annual 2010 Ministers of Transport Annual General Meeting that was held in Halifax, Nova Scotia on September 28-30, 2010. 

During this face to face meeting with Minister Strahl and his provincial and territorial counterparts, we also asked the Minister to include crashworthiness testing as part of the planned 15-passenger van safety review which had been announced by Transport Canada on June 25, 2010.

www.VanAngels.ca
Presented to Chuck Strahl
Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and
Communities
September 30, 2010

Halifax, Nova Scotia

We respectfully request that the Federal Minister of Transport recognize Multi-Function Activity Buses (MFABs) as a subcategory of school buses.

To do this, we respectfully request that the Minister direct Transport Canada staff to contact the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) and take the necessary steps to recognize in the federal standards the MFAB as a sub-category of school bus.

We respectfully request that the Provincial Ministers take the necessary steps to amend the respective Provincial Acts and Regulations to ban the use of I5-passenger vans as a mode of transportation for youth. This ban would include students participating in extra and co-curricular activities, day cares, preschools,
youth clubs and organizations that are responsible for the provision of transportation services to the youth of our communities.

Transport Canada Announcement of 15 Passenger Safety Review, June 25, 2010

One month after we travelled to Ottawa to see Member of Parliament, Yvon Godin (Bathurst) introduce Bill-C522, a bill to prohibit 15-passenger vans for student use, the Federal Minister of Transport, John Baird, announced that Transport Canada would review the safety of vans used for student transportation. At the same time, the Canadian Council of Motor Transport Administrators (CCMTA) was tasked with developing a "national approach" to student and small group transportation. Here is the press release as it appeared on the Transport Canada website on June 25, 2010. We were never informed of this important development and only discovered it by chance some time later in July.

Government of Canada Launches a Safety Review of Vans Used for Student Transportation

No. H081/10
For release - June 25, 2010
OTTAWA — Canada’s Transport Minister John Baird today announced a review of the safety standards applicable to 15-passenger vans, a move that will increase awareness of passenger safety among school board authorities.
“Extracurricular school activities are part of the fabric of Canadian society, and the Government of Canada is taking an important step today to improve the safety of field and sports trips across the country,” said Baird. “By launching this review, we can determine the best safety options for students during their trips and help to prevent tragedies on our roads.”
This safety review will include:

• consultation with provincial and territorial governments;
• an assessment of the safety and stability of extracurricular activity vehicles, including 15-passenger vans and another category called multi-function activity buses; and
• brake testing and testing to determine the vehicle rollover threshold.

As part of the consultation, the Government of Canada will seek input from provinces and territories on improving 15-passenger van safety. The issue will be discussed at the Council of Ministers meeting in September 2010 in Halifax, which will bring together the provincial, territorial and federal governments.
The provinces and territories, which share in the responsibility for road safety, regulate the use of vehicles used within their jurisdictions for school and sports activities.
Upon completion of the review, Transport Canada will undertake a safety awareness campaign to heighten knowledge of the safe use of 15-passenger vans.
Transport Canada will continue to work with its provincial and territorial partners, and manufacturers, along with New Brunswick Member of Parliament Yvon Godin who has proposed legislation on the issue, to improve the safety of all vehicles in Canada.

– 30 –

Contacts:

James Kusie
Director of Issues Management and
Parliamentary Affairs
Office of Canada's Transport Minister
John Baird, Ottawa
613-991-0700

Media Relations
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055 

See original article on Transport Canada website at

http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/mediaroom/releases-2010-h081e-6024.htm

BC Workplace Safety Investigation into Abbotsford 15 Passenger Van Tragedy

Summary
On March 7, 2007, a 15-passenger van carrying 16 farm workers plus the driver was travelling east on Highway 1 near Abbotsford, B.C. The vehicle collided with two transport trucks, rolled, and landed on its roof on the highway median. Three workers were killed and 14 others injured. 

• View the investigation animation.

Conclusions

Findings as to causes

• A 15-passenger van carrying 17 workers veered onto the right shoulder of the highway. The driver tried to steer back into the lane but steered too far to the left and collided with another vehicle in the centre lane. This collision pushed the passenger van back towards the right lane. As the passenger van slowed down, it was hit from behind by a third vehicle. The impact caused the van to spin out of control, eventually rolling over and stopping upside down on the highway median.
• If proper seat belts had been provided and if the workers had worn them, the number of fatalities and the severity of the workers' injuries might have been reduced.

Findings as to underlying factors

• The following factors likely contributed to the loss of vehicle control:
• Road conditions: Poor visibility and the wet road may have caused the driver of the passenger van to steer onto the shoulder of the highway.
• Poor tire maintenance: Improperly inflated tires, with poor tread on the front tires, may have permitted the passenger van to hydroplane on the wet road. It is possible that hydroplaning contributed to loss of vehicle control.
• Lack of driver training and knowledge: The driver of the passenger van lacked adequate knowledge and training to safely operate a 15-passenger commercial vehicle in adverse conditions.
• Vehicle stability issues: The risk of rollover for a 15-passenger van increases when there are more than 10 occupants because the centre of gravity shifts towards the rear of the van.

Vancouver Sun: Monument will honour Abbotsford farm workers killed in 2007 accident

 

Sukhman Sidhu, 7, left, and Avnoor Sidhu, 9, look out at a small model of a proposed sculpture at a memorial for their mother Sarabjit Sidhu and two other women farm workers who where killed when the van they were travelling to a farm crashed in Abbotsford March 7, 2007. The six-metre-high sculpture will be installed at Mill Lake Park.

Photograph by: Ric Ernst , PNG

Family and friends of three farm workers killed in a van accident in 2007 gathered in Abbotsford Sunday to preview a memorial to the women to be placed in Mill Lake Park.

Amarjit Kaur Bal, Sarabjit Kaur Sidhu and Sukhwinder Kaur Punia died on March 7, 2007, when a 15-passenger van carrying 17 women flipped onto a concrete median on Hwy. 1 near the Sumas exit.

An investigation revealed the driver of the vehicle didn’t have a proper licence and the van didn’t have properly inflated tires or enough seatbelts.

See a photo gallery from the event here

The deaths thrust the issue of farm worker safety to public prominence.

Sunday’s event saw the unveiling of a small model of the monument — a gold leaf tree with branches twisted into three female forms designed by B.C. artist Dean Lauze.

Jagjit Sidhu, husband of one of the workers, paused for a moment before speaking at the event.

“We are overjoyed with this beautiful monument, designed in remembrance to our lost wives and mothers,” he said, according to a release from the B.C. Federation of Labour.

A spokesman for the federation said Abbotsford community members and unions are raising money for the statue, expected to cost $250,000. The provincial government and the Workers’ Compensation Board have provided $100,000 to the monument, and the hope is to install it by this time next year.

Abbotsford City Council gave approval to the memorial, the only monument to farm workers in B.C., last April, drawing praise from B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair.

“I think it’s a powerful image and will be suitable, not only as a testimony and memorial to these women, but also [as] an artistic addition to the park,” he said at the time.

Sinclair was scheduled to attend Sunday’s event along with family members of the workers, provincial and municipal politicians and union representatives.

Jbarrett@vancouversun.com

Click here to read original article in Vancouver Sun

Why We Must Remember: Because It Is A Crime To Forget

Abbotsford Tragedy Anniversary: Model of farmworkers' monument revealed

 

Family of the three women who lost their lives when a van carrying 17 farm workers crashed on Highway 1 six years ago unveiled a model of a monument which will be erected on the shoreline of Mill Lake later this year.

A model of a monument in memory of three farmworkers killed in a freeway crash in 2007 was revealed at a candlelight vigil on Sunday afternoon at Abbotsford Civic Plaza.

Families of the deceased farmworkers unveiled a model of the Golden Tree Monument, the first of its kind in Canada. It will be erected on the shoreline of Mill Lake in Abbotsford later this year.

Sarbjit Kaur Sidhu, Amarjit Bal and Sukhvinder Kaur Punia were killed on the morning of March 7, 2007 when the overloaded and unsafe van in which they were travelling crashed on Highway 1 in Abbotsford.

Although police recommended charges against the driver, no charges were ever laid.

In December 2009, a coroner's jury made 18 recommendations that would make farmworkers safe. Not all recommendations have been implemented, according to the BC Federation of Labour.

Sunday's memorial included speeches in both English and Punjabi by family members of the deceased women and by local dignitaries.

Coun. Bill MacGregor, Abbotsford's deputy mayor, called the incident "a very tragic event for our community."

"This sense of loss will never go away," he said.

Jim Sinclair, president of the BC Federation of Labour, said that the lives of the three women are "sacred and important."

"Their legacy must be that it is safer for farm workers to go to work," he said.

"Our crime as working people is that we forget. And in forgetting, we allow it to happen again."

Click here to read original article on AbbyNews.com