Losing control over public safety
Turning responsibility for public safety over to private interests
The government of Saskatchewan is looking at turning over its responsibility to inspect, license and monitor mechanical equipment -- such as elevators, amusement rides, boilers and other pressure vessels -- to private interests.
The Licensing and Inspections Branch, Ministry of Corrections, Public Safety and Policing, is proposing to move safety inspections from the public service to a Delegated Authority. This new authority would be governed by a board of directors that would include industry representation.
Lower standards and less accountability
The government of Saskatchewan has a responsibility to ensure public safety, and is accountable to the public for its actions. Private corporations are responsible to their shareholders, and are not accountable to the people of the province.
When public safety is the issue, citizens have a right to expect high standards of accountability. Industry self-regulation too often means lower standards, inadequate reporting, limited monitoring and reduced compliance.
Whose voice is being heard?
The public has not been made aware of any plans to shift responsibility for safety inspections from public to private hands. Industry has been consulted, but the people of the province have been left in the dark.
What the public needs to know
Here are just a few of the questions the public needs to know:
- What accountability mechanisms will there be to guarantee that safety standards are met?
- Will the provincial auditor and ombusdman have powers to oversee operations and address problems?
- Will freedom of information and privacy protection rules that apply to government ministries apply to the Delegated Authority?
SGEU's response
SGEU has launched a public awareness campaign to let the people of Saskatchewan know what is happening and what is at stake.
SGEU's TV ad: Feeling Safe?
Proper inspection saves lives
The Toronto propane explosion
Before dawn on August 10, 2008, Toronto residents were awoken by a huge blast from the Sunrise Propane Facility that sent a fireball more than 150 metres into the air.
By the time the dust had settled, 12, 000 residents had been evacuated and millions of dollars worth of damage incurred.
Worse still, two people died. Parminder Saina, a 25-year-old who had come from India to study and work, and firefighter Bob Leek. He had been off-duty but came to help.
Like the new Authority being proposed here in Saskatchewan, a non-profit industry-funded agency was created to enforce safety regulations in industry. The Technical Standards and Safety Authority (TSSA) was a creation of the Mike Harris era, when many regulatory and inspection functions were divested from government.
In the aftermath of the explosion, residents launched a $300 million class action suit and are petitioning the provincial government to take back responsibility for the TSSA.
Ontario opposition critic Peter Tabuns stated "There was an abject failure of this corporation to fulfil its mandate and protect the public. The [legislative] amendments brought forward are an admission that the privatization of regulation has failed."
As with water in Walkerton and listeriosis at Maple Leaf Foods, the lesson learned is that vigorous, well-funded public inspection is the best way to protect our families and communities.
Let's keep safety inspections in public hands.
Private video of the Toronto explosion.
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