The Transportation Safety Board of Canada receives frequent requests from industry stakeholders concerning the permitted uses of on-board recordings, particularly for internal safety management system (SMS) audit purposes.
What is an on-board recording as defined by law?
Subsection 28(1) of the Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act (CTAISB Act) defines on-board recording as follows:
Definition of on-board recording
28(1) In this section, on-board recording means the whole or any part of
- a recording of voice communications originating from, or received on or in,
- the flight deck of an aircraft,
- the bridge or a control room of a ship,
- the cab of a locomotive, or
- the control room or pumping station of a pipeline, or
- a video recording of the activities of the operating personnel of an aircraft, ship, locomotive or pipeline
that is made, using recording equipment that is intended to not be controlled by the operating personnel, on the flight deck of the aircraft, on the bridge or in a control room of the ship, in the cab of the locomotive or in a place where pipeline operations are carried out, as the case may be, and includes a transcript or substantial summary of such a recording.
This definition applies to each mode of transport: air (cockpit voice recorders: CVR), rail (locomotive voice and video recorders: LVVR), marine (voyage data recorders: VDR) and pipeline (digital video recorders: DVR).
Statutory privilege for on-board recordings
All on-board recordings are protected, whether or not a transportation occurrence has taken place.
On-board recordings are not intended to be handled or listened to by airline, rail, maritime or pipeline operating personnel. Violations may result in criminal liability on the part of the operating personnel and/or the transport operating company.
On-board recordings are always accessible to the TSB
The TSB’s mandate is to advance safety in air, marine, pipeline, and rail transportation in Canada by conducting independent safety investigations. To fulfill this mandate, the TSB collects data, including information from on-board recordings, which are integral to investigations.
The TSB has guaranteed and immediate access to on-board recordings relating to the transportation occurrences it investigates. The TSB uses on-board recordings in the interest of transportation safety.
Who can access and use on-board recordings?
Apart from the TSB, only a limited number of people have access to and use on-board recordings for investigative purposes. The TSB must turn over on-board recordings for investigation to coroners or coordinated military investigations.Subsection 28(5) Canadian Transportation Accident Investigation and Safety Board Act, Aeronautics Act (RSC (1985), c. A-2)
Furthermore, the rail industry is currently the only sector of the transportation industry that provides authorized access to on-board recordings, with strict safeguards.
On May 23, 2018, Bill C-49Transportation Modernization Act (S.C. 2018, c. 10) amended the Railway Safety Act, requiring railway companies to equip their rolling stock with recording devices to enhance rail transportion safety. Bill C-49 also amended the CTAISB Act to allow railway companies to access and use on-board recording data, subject only to the conditions set out in the Railway Safety ActRailway Safety Act (1985, c. 32 (4th Supp.)) and the Locomotive Audio and Video Recorders RegulationsLocomotive Voice and Video Recorder Regulations (SOR/2020-178).
This legislative regime allows railway operating companies to designate persons authorized to access and use data recorded on control locomotives, exclusively for internal safety management system (SMS) purposes, when a reportable transportation occurrence arises that is not under TSB investigation.
If you have any questions about accessing and using on-board recordings, please contact TSB Communications by email at communications@bst-tsb.gc.ca