A Canadian Pacific Railway (CP) locomotive engineer died on Monday night in an accident at the company’s rail yard in Port Coquitlam. This is the tenth member of the Teamsters Canada Rail Conference (TCRC) to die on the job in 24 months, according to the union’s press statement.
The victim was a 56-year-old father with 32 years of service. The circumstances surrounding the accident are unclear at this stage.
“My thoughts are with the victim’s loved ones and co-workers. I want them to know that Canada’s over 125,000 Teamster members stand with them in solidarity and mourning,” said the President of Teamsters Canada, François Laporte.
Safety was a central issue during the recent strike at Canadian National Railway. This latest incident at CP further underscores the need for government and industry as a whole to work toward preventing senseless railway tragedies.
“Our hearts go out to the locomotive engineer’s family and everyone who worked with him,” said the President of the TCRC, Lyndon Isaak. “The rail industry is in crisis. We have lost 10 of our sisters and brothers over the past 24 months. It’s 10 too many.”
Due to a Transport Canada investigation, and out of respect for the victim’s family, the union said it could not comment further on this matter at this time.
The TCRC represents close to 3,500 workers at CP.